


Meet Me at Midnight

by madnephelite



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Not Beta Read, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-10-05 07:11:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 40,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17320370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madnephelite/pseuds/madnephelite
Summary: Vic is dealing with the events from the skyscraper incident and an unlikely person lends an ear and helps her through it.





	1. Good Listener

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea for a while now. I usually have them end up together by the end of the chapter but this time I wanted to do something slow burn. I hope you all enjoy.

_ “Travis?” Vic finds him in the stairwell, alone, not moving, bleeding from his chest. She is paralyzed for a second before springing into action. _

 

_ “OMG, please let him have a pulse. Please, let him have a pulse.” Vic checks and finally finds a pulse. It’s weak but it’s there and it gives her hope that he will make it, that she can save him, that she is not too late. _

 

_ “You don’t get to die on me. Not now. Not like this. Do you hear me? We are going to make it out of here and you will live. Don’t you dare quit on me!” She yells at him as she drags his bleeding body down the stairs. Floor after floor after floor. _

 

_ She wants to cry but she can’t. She needs all her strength to get Travis out of there and into an aid car to the hospital where doctors can actually help him.  _

 

_ It’s hot, she can feel the sweat running down her back, she is tired and she can barely see anything. The building is making weird noises and she knows that it could collapse at any moment and bury her and her entire family in it. Part of her thinks that if it were to happen at least it would bury all of Station 19 or the majority of it. It’s an awful thing to think she knows that but she can’t help that it gives her some sort of comfort as disturbing as that may sound. _

 

_ She pauses for just a second to take a deep breath and to check on Travis again as she hears another creak, followed by another explosion as the building starts to collapse on top of her and it all goes dark. _

 

Vic wakes with a start. She is covered with sweat and breathing heavily and as she looks at her clock she sees that it’s midnight which means she hasn’t even slept for an hour. She tries to calm down but it had felt so real. She could feel the building falling on top of her but it was all just a nightmare. She has been having those for a while now. That night was haunting her and she needed to do something about those dreams. They were tiring her out. It couldn’t go on like this. She needed to talk to someone. She looks around and sees that her teammates are still asleep. Part of her is glad that she didn’t wake them, another part wishes that at least one of them was awake so she could talk to them.

 

She takes a deep breath, grabs the bottle of water next to her bed, takes a sip before closing it again and lying back down. But sleep won’t come. After lying awake for 15 minutes she gets up slowly not trusting her legs which still feel like jello from the dream and for a second she wonders whether she should put on a robe but she is so hot and still sweaty so she decides against it. 

 

When she enters the kitchen she wishes she had because she finds Chief Ripley, their current interim Captain, there. He had been with them for about a week now which was weird at first but after awhile it felt like he was actually part of the team. He even had breakfast and dinner with them. Vic thinks about going back to bed but her curiosity gets the better of her as she watches him, wearing sweatpants and a sweater which she never thought she would ever get to see him in, cook something on the stove. He appears so -- so normal...human in that moment. Not at all like the stoic Chief that barks orders and has difficult choices to make. For a second her mind forgets all about her awful dream and she admires his form. For a guy his age he is really fit. She had already noticed that during the peer review. She wasn't blind after all. She could see that he was an attractive guy. There was nothing wrong in admitting that.

 

“Ahem” she hears someone clear his throat and realizes that it’s Ripley who is now starting at her. She feels embarrassed for a second thinking he had caught her checking him out but instead she finds him looking at her with concern written all over his handsome face. 

 

_ I must look mad to him. All sweaty. Hair probably sticking out in all directions and damn, I’m only wearing shorts and a tank top and NO bra. That’s an HR meeting waiting to happen. I need to get out of here!  _ she thinks.

 

“Hughes, are you okay? You look -- you look kinda pale?” and there is also worry in his voice and it sounds genuine.

 

_ Guess he does care after all.  _

 

“I had a nightmare. It was a really bad one and it wasn’t the first one either.” she blurts out and she doesn’t know why she is telling  _ him _ of all people. “Sorry, I don’t know why I just told you that. You probably don’t wanna hear this.”

 

“Actually, I do. You wanna talk about it? I was told I’m a good listener.” he offers and she hesitates for a second but then thinks maybe he is just the right person to talk to. He has been doing this job for so long. All the things he has seen and experienced could help and even if he doesn’t give her any advice at all, at least she is talking to someone. So, she nods her head and sits down at the table. 

 

“My mother always made us hot chocolate with marshmallows when we couldn’t sleep. It usually helped. Do you want some?” he asks as he pours a second mug not waiting for her answer. Vic nods her head as he walks over to the table, placing both mugs on it and sits down next to her. It’s not inappropriately close but it’s still close but Vic finds comfort in the closeness if she was being honest. She reaches for the mug and smiles when she notices that it’s her favorite one. She takes a sip from it and she can’t help the little moan that escapes her throat as she closes her eyes and takes a few more sips until the mug is empty. It’s been awhile since she had homemade hot chocolate and this one was really delicious. Sinful even.

 

“This was really good and this is my favorite mug. Everyone knows to never drink from it if they don’t want to get on my bad side.” she can feel the sugar rush while he chuckles at her comment.

 

“I’ll keep that in mind. I wouldn’t want you to yell at me for a third time.” he jokes and her smile fades.

 

“About that. I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have yelled at you during the skyscraper incident.”

 

“I appreciate that, Hughes. I understood where you were coming from.” he assures her with a small smile.

 

“I didn’t understand the same for you. All I could think about was Travis not making it to the hospital in time and the rest of my family being trapped in there and you were the perfect person to lash out at. I’m really sorry.” he reaches out, places his hand over hers, squeezing it gently, giving her the comfort she needs in that moment without it feeling inappropriate.

 

“Was that what the nightmare was about?” she nods. “Like I said, I am a good listener. I find that it usually helps to talk about those kinda things. It’s not healthy to keep it in. It can consume you and mess with your head. I know what I’m talking about.”

 

“The building collapsed and buried me and my team underneath it.” Vic feels the tears forming in her eyes.

 

“It felt so real. I could feel the rubble fall on top of me before it all went dark and then I woke up. I couldn’t breath and I just -- I just keep having those nightmares and they are not always the same but they all have the same outcome. I lose my family. Sometimes it’s all of us, sometimes it’s just one or two of them but I always lose someone.” and she is crying now and Ripley is still holding her hand, squeezing it a little harder. She looks down at their joined hands but he doesn’t let go. He urges her to keep talking.

 

“I wake up knowing that it was just a bad dream. That my team is still alive. All of them. But -- but then I remember what we do for a living and that it could all end at any moment and it scares me. Those people in there are all I’ve got. They are not just my colleagues or just friends. They are my family. I don’t know what I would do if anything were to happen to them and the skyscraper was the closest I’ve ever gotten to losing them.” she confesses and she knows he understands. She can see it in his eyes. And it’s not that he understands just because he is a firefighter too but because he sees every single firefighter as part of his family as well and because he actually does care. 

 

_ More than you could possibly know.  _ She remembers Ripley’s words from that night.

 

She really regrets screaming at him. She couldn’t have been more wrong about him.

 

She feels cold all of a sudden. The sweat has cooled her down and she is shivering now. Vic watches as Ripley, without hesitating, unzips his sweater, revealing a wife beater underneath it, another image she never thought she would see, and places it over her shoulders. He squeezes them to give her some extra comfort before letting go and sitting back down. She slips into the sleeves and zips it. It’s still warm from him and so soft. She feels like never taking it off.

 

“You are really hot!” she blurts out without thinking and she wants to sink into the ground as she realizes what she had just said. “I mean...I meant you’re body is really hot.” and he raises his eyebrows at her, looking amused while she stutters “Oh god, no. That’s not how -- that’s not what I meant. Sorry. I just meant that the sweater is really warm from your body heat. Oh god, somebody please just kill me now.” she can feel her cheeks burning and she can’t bring herself to look at him. 

 

“Good to know that you don’t find me or my body hot. HR would have a field day.” Vic finally looks up and chuckles. Her little word vomit just now had helped lighten the mood a bit. She is grateful for it even though still embarrassed. She knows that her cheeks must be red, probably her entire face.

 

“Do you feel better now?” he asks and she just nods. Not trusting herself to talk and make a fool out of herself again.

 

“You sure?” he asks again and she still just nods.

 

“Cat got your tongue?” he teases her.

 

“I just don’t want to say anything else and embarrass myself even more.” she finally speaks.

 

“But why? It was funny to me.” still teasing her.

 

“Yeah, it was to  _ you _ . I’m mortified.” she is still flustered.

 

“But for real,” he gets all serious again “I know we have gotten off on the wrong foot what with all the yelling on your part.” he jokes.

 

“You will never let that go, will you?” he just shakes his head at her and continues to speak.

 

“I’m here if you need to talk. I do care about my people and you are one of them. So, don’t hesitate to come to me. Okay? Whatever you need you can come and talk to me. Understood?” somehow him telling her that she is a person he cares about makes her feel safe and warm inside. She nods her head and mouths a  _ thank you _ . 

 

When they both yawn at the same time they can’t help but laugh. He looks at his watch and realizes what time it is. They have been sitting here for about 45 minutes.

 

“We should probably go to bed.” he says and she raises an eyebrow at him.

 

“I meant separately. You in your bed and me in mine. I didn’t -- I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. I promise.” and this time it’s her turn to snicker and be amused and his to blush and feel embarrassed and she is smiling and laughing and feels like a weight has been lifted off of her.

 

“This whole talk is an HR meeting waiting to happen.” he says and she laughs even harder at that.

 

“I was thinking the exact same thing a few minutes ago.” she tells him and he laughs with her while grabbing the mugs and putting them in the sync.

 

“Thank you, Chief. Talking actually helped. Thanks for listening.” she gives him a shy smile.

 

“Like I said, happy to.” he smiles back. “Good night, Hughes.”

 

“Good night, Chief.” she says as she watches him disappear down the stairs.

 

She walks back into the bunk area and lies down on her bed. Her body relaxes, feels lighter again as does her mind. She feels as if it’s been put at ease and she welcomes it. She notices that she is still wearing Ripley’s sweater. She will give it back to him tomorrow. But for now she can’t bring herself to take it off. She doesn’t really want to. It gives her comfort as stupid as it may sound. 

 

_ It smells like him _ is her last thought before she drifts into a peaceful sleep.


	2. Guardian Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic has another sleepless night and finds the Chief awake in his office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was not the plan for Vic's story but this idea came to me today and I just thought that it's brilliant and much better than the original idea and it makes it even more special and I think it makes their bond stronger. I really hope you like it.

Vic lies awake in her bed at the station unable to sleep. This time though it’s not nightmares keeping her up. She hasn’t had those since her talk with Chief Ripley a few nights ago. She just isn’t tired. The day had been slow, mostly spent with chores and just goofing around. She has all this energy and doesn’t know what to do with it. Her colleagues are all asleep which isn’t surprising. It’s midnight after all and well, they are all “old people”.

 

She knows she won’t find any sleep anytime soon so she leaves her bed and the sleeping area and heads to the kitchen. She feels like hot chocolate, wonders if the Chief is awake and wants some too. She grabs the ingredients and goes to work. Fifteen minutes later, she is pouring the hot liquid into two mugs, topping them off with some whipped cream and is heading down the stairs. 

 

She can see the light on as she approached his office, happy to see that he is awake as well. As she stands in front of the glass door she can see him hunched over his desk with lots of files on the table and he looks quite busy. She thinks it’s a bad idea to disturb him and that she should probably leave but before she can retreat he has looked up and locked eyes with her, smiling and gesturing her to come in.

 

She walks in, placing the mug on his desk. He grabs it immediately bringing it to his lips and taking several sips, enjoying the taste of it.

 

“This is really good. Better than mine.” he tells her while taking another sip. “What’s in this? It tastes -- I don’t know what it is but I like whatever you added to it.”

 

“That’s my dad’s recipe. He had a special ingredient to give it that extra oomph but I’m afraid I can’t share that information with anyone but family.” she shrugs as he pouts which is a cute look on him.

 

“But I am your bosses boss’ boss. I mean that has to count for something.” he gives her his best puppy dog eyes but it’s not working on Vic.

 

“Sorry, you have to work for that information. I ain’t giving it away freely.” she laughs. 

 

“Okay. I give up. For now. I will get that information out of you eventually even if it’s the last thing I do.” he proclaims and she just nods amused.

 

“You can try but that is one of the secrets I have no problem keeping to myself.” she looks at his desk again and decides it’s probably best to leave him alone.

 

“You are busy so I should probably go and leave you to your work. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” she is about to leave but his voice stops her.

 

“NO!” he half-shouts and it makes her turn around. “I mean, you don’t have to go. I’m actually happy you are here. I need a break. I’ve been dealing with all this bureaucratic stuff all day long and I can’t see it anymore.” he complains as she raises an eyebrow at his outburst.

 

“Usually, I don’t mind but today with hardly any calls and the day being kinda boring I was basically stuck here only doing paperwork and while it’s good that I had time to catch up on some work, I hate how monotone this day was. So, please stay. I’d like the company.” there is that sincerity again and it makes her heart grow fonder.

 

“Okay! Do you mind if I make myself comfortable on the couch?” she doesn’t wait for an answer as she has already plopped down on the couch with her feet up, mug in her hands, quietly sipping her hot chocolate, smiling at him as he shakes his head at her disbelieving.

 

“Oh please, don’t let me stop you.” he laughs as she thanks him.

 

“Another nightmare?” he asks curiously.

 

“No, I haven’t had any since our last talk.” she confesses.

 

“That’s good. I’m glad it helped. So, why are you up at...” he looks at his watch “at midnight?”

 

“As you said, today was kinda boring and I’m not tired and have all this energy and don’t know what to do with it.” he nods.

 

“So you thought chocolate and sugar is the way to go?” he teases.

 

“Well, somebody told me that hot chocolate helps with insomnia the other night. So.” she shrugs her shoulders.

 

“Sounds like a very wise person.” he retorts.

 

“Meh, he has his moments.” she winks at him making him snicker.

 

“Anything on your mind that you wanna talk about?” he wonders.

 

“Not really. I just wanted some company and everyone else was asleep. So you were my last option.” she teases.

 

“Gee thanks, way to make a guy feel special.” His expression turned to mock-hurt. 

 

“You are the Chief of the entire fire department. You really need to feel anymore special than that?” she enjoys the light banter between them and she can tell that he does too as he relaxes in his chair and laughs showing his perfect teeth and dimples.

 

“So, what made you become a firefighter?” she inquires as she makes herself more comfortable on his couch.

 

“I was about 7 years old and there was this big wildfire at home in Australia.” 

 

“Wait, you are from Australia? Where is your accent?” she interrupts him.

 

“Yeah, I was born there. We moved to the States when I was 14, so I have been living here for most of my life and the accent only comes out when I’m with my family.” Vic wonders if it would be rude to invite herself to his next family gathering only to hear his accent. 

 

“Anyways, as I was saying before someone so rudely interrupted me.” he gives her a look which she ignores.

 

“There was a wildfire and I watched the firefighters work tirelessly to get it under control. They were so brave and I decided that I wanted to do that too. I was too young for the junior firefighter program back then so I had to wait a couple of years but I spend those years reading everything about it and I learned a lot. So by the time I was old enough to sign up I knew more than anyone else. Made me the teacher’s favorite. Though the other kids thought I was a show-off but I didn’t really care. I took the job seriously even back then.”

 

“Wow, you have been doing this for a long time then?” he just nods.

 

“Why become the Chief?”

 

“It wasn’t really the plan at first but I advanced really quickly and it was the most logical next step, I guess. I mean don’t get me wrong I do love it. I like to be in charge. I like the responsibility of the job and taking care of my people. That’s how my parents raised me. I enjoy the training, teaching and evaluations and making sure all stations are at the top of their game. Even though some people may disagree about how good of a job I am doing in that department.” he smirks at her.

 

“Hey, I stand by my opinion. 23 is where the slugs of the department go to get slower.” that earns her an unexpected laugh from Ripley.

 

“See, you know that I am right.” she nods her head enthusiastically earning another laugh from him.

 

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” he gets serious again but not really.

 

“You are quite young for a Chief, aren’t you?” she wonders.

 

“I was 38. The youngest ever in Seattle. Have been doing the job for almost 4 years now.” she nods.

 

“What about you? What made you become a firefighter?” he asks.

 

“I used to work at this retirement home and for whatever reason I decided to visit on my day off and then there was a fire. I don’t remember much of it. I know that it was bad and I must have inhaled a lot of smoke and ended up unconscious. Next thing I knew I was in the hospital. I was alive because a firefighter had risked his own life to get me out of there. I asked around but the day was chaos and no one could tell me which firefighter pulled me out of there. But yeah, that day made me realize that I have gotten a second chance at life and I wanted to do something meaningful with it. So, I signed up for the academy as soon as I was discharged from the hospital.” she hasn’t told that story to anyone before and as she looks up at him she notices that something has changed. She can’t read his face though. She has no idea what it is.

 

“I was there that day.” he confesses as her eyes go wide. That she didn't expect.  


 

“It  _ was _ chaos and I remember going into the east wing, looking for survivors and I could barely see a thing and I was on my way out when something caught my eye and I went back to check what it was and found a young woman who was wearing a bright yellow shirt that said “Today is my lucky day!”. If it hadn't been for that shirt I wouldn't have seen her. So it saved her life and it was right because it was her lucky day. Anyways, she was unconscious, so I grabbed her and carried her out. I wanted to stay to make sure she was okay but I had other orders and so I left. When I asked at the hospital about her no one could help me identify her. I never knew if I got to her in time.” Vic has been holding her breath the entire time he was talking, eyes filled with tears that are streaming down her face freely and she can’t believe any of this. All those years she had been wondering about that day.

 

“You did make it in time. You saved her. You saved...me and you are the reason I am here now in more ways than one. I became a firefighter because of you. Thank you!” he was just as stunned as she was at what they had just discovered. 

 

_ This is so going into my journal  _ Vic makes a mental note.

 

“You do know what that means though?” her tone is playful again even though she is still battling the tears that can’t seem to stop.

 

“What?” he looks at her suspicious.  


 

“You have no one but yourself to blame for all the yelling on my part because I’m only here because of you.” she bursts into laughter not able to contain herself and he laughs too.

 

“Touche.”

 

She yawns as she stretches her muscles, making him yawn as well.

 

“It’s getting late and it looks like you still have quite some work to finish up. I should probably get out of your hair.” she says but doesn’t make an attempt to get up. She is just really comfortable.

 

“Yeah, I should probably get back to work but I don’t mind if you want to stay a little bit longer.” he looks kinda hopeful like he really doesn't want to be alone. She nods while lying down on the couch. She is tired now. Their talk has exhausted her in the best way possible. She watches him work but not for long as she can feel her eyelids getting heavier. She is dozing off but still aware of her surroundings. She hears him as he gets up from his chair and walks over to where she is lying on his couch. The next thing she knows a blanket is covering her sleeping form and his soft lips are touching her forehead. It’s intimate and puts a smile on her face for she can’t remember the last time she has felt this cared for. She mumbles a thank you before she hears him retreat and sit back down in his chair to finish up his paperwork and she falls asleep.  


 

She doesn’t know for how long she has been sleeping when she feels him nudge her awake.

 

“I’m sorry to wake you. You looked so peaceful but I am done for the night and you should probably go back to your own bed.” he speaks softly. 

 

She is still half-asleep when she stands up and a bit wobbly which has her almost fall back onto the couch but he catches her in time and holds her up. She can feel the heat radiate from him as they stand close, his arms around her small frame. 

 

“You are still hot.” she mumbles earning her a chuckle from him before he lets go of her and she leaves, slowly walking back to her bed and falling into a peaceful sleep once again.


	3. Unfinished Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Station 19 has a difficult call and it's Vic that listens to Ripley this time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Let me know what you think :)

It had been a rough day. A child care center had caught on fire and it was brutal. Screaming children and concerned parents everywhere. They worked tirelessly to ensure everyone’s safety and by the end they managed to save all kids without anyone getting hurt seriously except for one of the child care workers who sadly didn’t make it out alive. She died protecting the children and she was fairly young too and it made Vic think of that day at the retirement home when she almost died herself but unlike their victim she was lucky enough to be saved…by Ripley. He for his part had done an excellent job as their Captain, had been quick on his feet and gotten his hands dirty like his team. Station 19 worked like an oiled machine and the Chief had told them how proud he was of them and what a wonderful job they had done. Her team took the compliment and didn’t pay much attention to anything else but Vic could tell that the Chief was taking the death of the young woman pretty hard.

 

Now back at the station with all her teammates showered and already in bed, Vic once again lies awake not able to sleep. She wonders if Ripley wants to talk about what had happened. She can’t get that look in his eyes out of her head. She sits up in her bed, checks to make sure that everyone is asleep and goes into the kitchen to prepare some hot chocolate. It had become kind of a ritual for her and the Chief to talk over some hot chocolate and she liked it. Just like the other night, she pours the hot liquid into two mugs and heads downstairs. To her disappointment, she finds his office dark with no trace of him in it.  _ He must be already asleep _ she thinks and she can’t blame him. With a sigh, she heads back upstairs. She can’t help but be disappointed. She had really hoped to talk to him. It was easily becoming her favorite thing to do. Talking to him was just so comforting and calming and that is exactly what she needed right now.

 

She is so deep in thoughts that she almost misses that someone is in the kitchen and that someone is the Chief standing at the stove ready to make hot chocolate. He must have used the other staircase and that’s how they missed each other. She can’t help but chuckle at that and it startles him.

 

“Damn it, Hughes. You almost gave me a heart attack. Don’t sneak up on people like that.” he curses as he turns around to look at her.

 

“Well, it’s not like I’m a ninja so you should have heard me coming up and walking in here.” she teases.

 

“Are you calling me old?” his tone is playful and she chuckles some more.

 

“If the shoe fits.” he rolls his eyes at her and notices the two mugs in her hands.

 

“Is one of those for me?” he asks and she nods. He quickly puts away the ingredients he had gathered. No need to make hot chocolate when she already had.

 

“Wanna stay here or go to my office?”

 

“Your office. Your couch is quite comfy.” she simply answers and is already going back down the stairs with him following her.

 

As they enter his office, Vic makes herself comfortable on his couch and to her surprise he sits down beside her. She hands him a mug and he takes a sip and starts coughing.

 

“Too hot?” she wonders.

 

“Did you spike this?” his expression slightly disapproving. 

 

“I figured after today we really need it.” 

 

“You do have a point but we are still on call.”  _ him and his rules and protocol _ she thinks as she rolls her eyes.

 

“It’s just a bit of rum. It won’t hurt you. Just drink up, matey.” it was supposed to sound Australian but it doesn’t and it makes the Chief laugh and it makes Vic happy to see that even at her expense.

 

“Please, don’t ever say that again. That was awful.” he tells her in his serious voice but Vic just ignores him as she happily sips her spiked beverage.

 

“So, do you wanna talk about what happened today?” she inquires.

 

“I don’t know. Do you?” he deflects.

 

“I thought about that day when you saved me.” she admits.

 

“Me too. Debby wasn’t as lucky as you were. It’s really hard losing someone especially when you are in charge. You wonder if you had done something differently if that could have saved them. When something like today happens I often wonder if I should be doing this job.” he hangs his head in defeat and she hates seeing him like that. So she scoots a bit closer and takes his hand into hers, rubbing her thumb in soothing circles over the back of his hand, trying to give him the same comfort he gave to her that first night when she had her nightmare and he lifts his head and smiles at her. Her hand moves up to his arm but he flinches away with a hiss.

 

“What was that?” she looks at him worried.

 

“It’s nothing.” he replies but she can tell that it’s not nothing.

 

“Give me your arm.” he shakes his head. “What are you, five? Give me your damn arm, now!” she commands.

 

He reluctantly does. She pulls up his sleeve and find his arm bandaged and it’s a poorly done job which makes her raise an eyebrow at him.

 

“Did you bandage this yourself?” he nods.

 

“Well, good thing they are not paying you the big bucks to patch up people.” she teases him as she removes the gauze and finds his skin red, swollen and full of blisters.

 

“Damn, did you even clean this?” she scolds him

 

“Of course I did. You are acting like I don’t know what I am doing.” 

 

“Well, sorry it looks like you didn’t know what you were doing. Did this happen today?” he shakes his head.

 

“No, last night at home. I was ironing my uniform, got a phone call and wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing.” 

 

“Okay and why didn’t you ask one of us to take a look at it today? I mean we had a pretty slow morning. There was enough time to take care of this properly.” she berates him as she pokes at the wound and he hisses again.

 

“Stop being a big baby and let me take care of this.” she rolls her eyes at him again.

 

“You really don’t have to. It’s no big deal. It will heal in a few weeks.” he shrugs.

 

“That just won’t cut it. In a few weeks you will be back at your dayjob and I can’t have my Chief go back to HQ broken. That would ruin 19’s reputation.” she realizes that she had just called him  _ her _ Chief but she just keeps talking, pretending that it’s no big deal and he doesn’t say anything about it either. He probably didn’t even hear it.

 

“Well, good to know that Station 19’s reputation is more important to you than  _ your  _ Chief.” of course he had heard her little slip. She wants to sink into the ground.

 

Without saying another word and not looking at him, she drops his arm and goes into the bathroom to grab the first aid kit. When she comes back, she plops back onto the couch, sitting closer than before, their knees touching and it makes a shiver go through her entire body but she ignores it and instead grabs the little pillow behind her, places it on her lap and lays his hand on it. She carefully cleans the wound and she knows that he is watching her, she can feel his breath on her face that’s how close they are now but she still ignores it and starts to bandage his arm. When she is done she makes the mistake of looking up and he is impossibly close. Closer than just a minute ago and it’s like they both have stopped breathing and all it would take is just for her to lean in a little bit and she would be kissing him. He looks down at her lips and then back into her eyes and she does the same and then he is moving his head slowly and she knows that it’s about to happen. She is about to kiss Ripley.

 

_ Ring-ring-ring _

 

His phone rings and Vic jumps up and away from him like she had been burned, mumbles a quick goodnight and is out the door in a second.

 

_ What the hell was that? What was I thinking? Why would I ruin such a great relationship with something as stupid as a kiss? I’m an idiot.  _ She scolds herself.

 

She goes back to her room and tries to find sleep but it won’t come. She can’t stop thinking about how awkward this whole thing will be with him tomorrow and she doesn’t want that. She can’t have that. She wants to keep this friendship or whatever it is that they have become over the last couple of weeks.

 

Half an hour goes by before she gets up from her bed and almost marches down the stairs to his office. She knows what she has to do to fix this. She is about to knock on his door when it flies open and Ripley almost bumps into her.

 

“Hughes, did you forget something?” he asks nervously. 

 

“Actually I did.” she says as she stands on her tiptoes, he is just slightly taller than her but taller nonetheless, and gives him a small, quick kiss on the lips. It barely lasts a second before she is pulling away, looking at a stunned Chief before she starts talking again.

 

“I hate unfinished business and this just now will take the awkwardness out of that thing that almost happened half an hour ago.” she says matter of factly.

 

“Goodnight, Chief.” she gives him a small smile and then she is walking away, leaving behind a stunned Ripley muttering  _ What just happened?  _ Which makes her smile even more.

 

She falls asleep in a matter of minutes.

 

The next morning they are back to their usual banter and teasing as if nothing had happened and Vic is grateful that she was right.

 


	4. Time to say goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Ripley's last shift as acting Captain and Vic doesn't like it. She doesn't like it one bit.

She finds him in the kitchen as he is preparing dinner. 

 

_ That’s a first _ she thinks since he has never cooked for them before. The smell makes her mouth water.  _ Who would have thought that the Chief can cook. _ He has his back to her and she walks closer as she speaks.

 

“What are you cooking?” and once again she startles him.

 

“Damn it, Hughes! What did I tell you about sneaking up on me? You should start wearing a bell so I can hear you when you come into the room.”

 

“You sure you would hear it at your age?” she teases.

 

“You do remember that I am your bosses boss’ boss, right?” he raises an eyebrow but his tone remains playful.

 

“What are you gonna do, fire me? I’m way too likeable to be fired.” she beams at him as she snags some of the peppers from the bowl he has prepared.

 

“I’m not sure about that anymore. You are kinda mean.” he says mock-hurt and continues “Also, will you stop eating the food? This is supposed to be for everyone.” she tries to steal another piece from the bowl but he smacks her hand away, making her pout.

 

“That pout ain’t gonna work on me.” she tries a little harder giving him her best puppy dog eyes but he turns away to concentrate on the food instead and she pretends to give up.

 

“Who is mean now? I just wanted one more piece. That’s all. Just ONE!” she says feigning sadness and he turns to look at her again and this time it does work as he holds out the bowl with the veggies in it for her to steal one more piece but instead she grabs a handful and runs away from him as she stuffs her mouth with it. 

 

“Ha, you won't catch me unless you want the food to burn and what irony that would be.  _ “Fire Chief causes fire at Station 19” _ .” she mumbles with a full mouth before bursting into laughter as the rest of her team walks into the kitchen and finds them there not understanding what is going on.

 

“Vic, are you okay? What’s so funny?” Maya wonders as she looks between her and the Chief.

 

“He is mad at me for stealing his food.” she points at Ripley and Maya looks confused.

 

“I don’t get how that’s funny.” she admits.

 

“I guess it’s one of those things where you had to be there.” Vic just shrugs as she turns back to Ripley.

 

“You still haven’t answered my question about what you are making for us.” she inquires.

 

“Tacos and burritos.” he says without looking at her still concentrating on dinner.

 

“I love burritos.” she exclaims with excitement.

 

“Oh shoot, looks like we are out of burritos then.” he chuckles as Vic throws a kitchen towel at him not caring that her colleagues are watching them. They know how she gets when burritos are involved, so they probably don’t think much of it. This is a typical Vic thing to do when food is involved.

 

“Chief, you really shouldn’t joke about burritos unless you want to lose an arm or another part of your body.” Dean tells him. “Vic is very sensitive when it comes to those.” he whispers to the Chief but Vic hears it and glares at him.

 

“Don’t you have anything better to do, Miller?” she raises an eyebrow and her voice at him and Dean immediately grabs the plates from the kitchen counter and starts setting the table with Vic still glaring at him.

 

“Relax Hughes. I promise I won’t get between you and your burritos.” he says and the entire room laughs.

 

“You better not, Miller. Wouldn’t want to have another injured firefighter.” Vic jokes and walks away. She quickly goes to the bathroom to freshen up and wash her hands.

 

When she returns to the kitchen a few minutes later the table is set, her team already sitting with only one seat left right next to Ripley. She sits down beside him and watches him stand up and raise a glass. She raises her own as does the rest of the team.

 

“I just wanted to thank you all for the great couple of weeks I got to spend here. You are a great team. You all have done a wonderful job here in those last 6 weeks and I expect that to continue when the new Captain gets here. I’ll be introducing him to all of you the day after tomorrow. So this is officially my last shift as your acting captain. Again, thank you all for making me feel welcome. Cheers.” everyone is smiling, drinking and digging into their food except for Vic.

 

She had almost forgotten that him being there was only temporary. This was his last shift and then he would be leaving, going back to headquarters and she would lose her talking buddy.

 

“Your food is getting cold, Hughes. I thought burritos are your favorite?” Ripley whispers into her ear, interrupting her train of thoughts.

 

“Oh yeah, right. Food. Sure, they are my favorites.” she mumbles and starts eating but she can’t really enjoy it. There is too much on her mind.

 

When they are all done she tells her team that she would take care of the dishes and that they could just go to bed or whatever. She doesn’t really feel like company anyway. She feels like sulking.

 

The Chief disappears as well. Back into his office, she assumes and she is left alone in the kitchen. Just her and her thoughts. She tries her best to distract herself but she can’t stop thinking about him leaving. She had gotten used to him being there. Station 19 would be weird without him if she was being honest. He had become a part of their team or maybe he had just become a part of her own personal team. She doesn’t really remember anyone else bonding with the Chief the way she had. Everyone else was probably happy that he was leaving.  


 

By the time she finishes the dishes it’s really late and she wonders if Ripley is still awake. She wants to talk to him one last time.

 

She decides to try her luck and walks downstairs and she sighs a breath of relief when she sees that his lights are on. He is at his desk again but doesn’t look up, so she knocks.

 

“Come in.” she hears his voice without him looking up. She wonders if had expected her to come see him.  


 

“Hey, I'm sorry. I hope I am not interrupting anything important?” she asks quietly. "I can come back later if that is better?"  


 

“No, it’s fine.” he smiles at her. “No hot chocolate tonight?” he wonders.

 

“Oh, we ran out of chocolate and forgot to buy some.” she explains as he nods.  


 

“Do you mind if I sit down?” she asks and he nods again. So she walks over to the couch and once again makes herself comfortable.

 

“Is everything okay? You were acting kinda weird during dinner. One moment you were all laughter and the next you looked like someone had killed your favorite pet.” he asks with the same concern that he had that first night and it makes her heart skip a beat.

 

“I’m fine. It’s just -- I totally forgot that it’s already been 6 weeks since the skyscraper and that this means that Travis is coming back soon and I haven’t talked to him or seen him in a while.” it’s not a complete lie but she can’t tell the Chief that she is going to miss him, can she? It would be inappropriate and yet she can’t help but mutter those words under her breath thinking that he doesn’t hear it anyway but of course he does. He always seems to when it comes to her except for when she is sneaking up on him.

 

“I’m gonna miss you too, Hughes.” he says with a soft smile and she looks up at him with surprise on her face. She did not expect him to reply at least not with those words.

 

“What?” 

 

“I’m gonna miss this. Our midnight talks. They were the highlight of my time here, to be honest with you.” he confesses with a smile and she can feel the tears forming in her eyes as she smiles back at him.

 

“But you know just because I am not here anymore doesn’t mean you can’t just pick up the phone and call me if you need to talk. I meant it when I said that I am here for you.” she watches him as he scribbles something onto a piece of paper and gets up from his chair to hands it to her.

 

“It’s my personal number. You can call me at any time.” he tells her as he leans back against his desk.

 

Vic gets up from the couch and walks over to him and without warning she envelops him in a bone crushing hug. She can tell that he is taken by surprise as his whole body stiffens and he doesn’t make a move or even takes a breath and she thinks it was a mistake and wants to let go but then he is hugging her back, holding her close to him. There is no room between them and neither one dares to move. They just stay in the moment for a bit longer not wanting to let go.

 

“Thank you for saving my life. In more ways than one.” she whispers into his ear before kissing him on the cheek. She can tell that he wants to say something but she doesn’t let him. She entangles herself from him and leaves his office in a hurry not trusting herself to stay any longer. Once she exits his office the tears are freely streaming down her cheeks.  


 

She walks back to her room and lies down but she can’t find any sleep. She can’t stop thinking about Ripley leaving but at the same time she thinks it might be for the best. They were getting way too close and some distance might be good for her. Maybe not seeing him on a daily basis will help her get over those feelings that have surfaced. Feelings that she should not have. She tries to tell herself that she only feels this way because he was there for her and it had been awhile since someone was there for her in that way. That is has nothing to do with him but just his actions. She knows that it’s not true but she still convinces herself that this is the real reason. Anything to help her get over this. Anything to help her finally fall asleep and forget all about Chief Ripley.

 

The next time she sees him, he is introducing Captain Sullivan to them. Vic looks at him for a second before taking a deep breath and concentrating on the new Captain instead. She knows that this is probably the last time she gets to see him for a while but she finds that ignoring him makes this whole thing easier. She also knows that she is lying to herself but she ignores that inner voice that is telling her that. 

 

He stays for about an hour before leaving but not before shaking everyone's hand goodbye and when it’s her turn she feels electricity run through her body and as she looks up at him she can see that he felt it too.

 

“Goodbye, Chief. It was nice having you here.” she smiles at him as he lets go of her hand and smiles back and then leaves.

 

She watches him walk away and can’t help but think the she is so majorly screwed.


	5. Three to tango

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic finally sees Ripley again and sparks fly. Travis notices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I wanted to say thank you to everyone that has been reading, commenting and giving kudos to this story. It means so much to me.
> 
> Secondly, I'm trying to keep include canon from the show. I hope you enjoy it!

It’s been a few weeks since she had seen or talked to him. 

 

She had kept herself busy with work, had wanted to impress Sullivan or the very least not get on his bad side like Andy constantly did. She also had to deal with or rather tried to ignore the tension between Andy and Maya since Sullivan had taken a liking to Maya and her skills rather than Andy’s. Then of course there was Jack, who was battling his own demons after everything that had happened and almost dying. Vic had tried to help him, had even considered giving him Ripley’s number but didn’t really want Jack to wonder why she had the Chief’s personal number in the first place. So, she tried helping him herself but he had shut her down, pretending that everything was okay. Vic of course had known that he was full of shit and had kept an eye on him. Then of course there was the matter of Travis and the fact that she hadn’t talked to him in forever and had been ignoring him for weeks. One night they had come to blows at the station and Vic had just let it all out. Their fight had gotten loud enough for Sullivan to hear and he had reprimanded them both and told them to take their crap elsewhere like a support group. She had also slept with this guy from Station 23 who appeared nice enough but was rather boring and remained a one and done, not worth repeating. And all that would have been reason enough to call Ripley and talk to him, minus telling him about the guy from Station 23 who, if she was being honest, only happened because she was trying to forget all about tall, blonde and handsome which was kind of impossible. 

 

So, all in all Vic had been dealing with a lot of shit that she wished she didn’t have to deal with or at least not deal with all by herself.

 

That’s why she finds herself on her way to the support group that Sullivan had told her about. When she arrives there, she spots Travis who lets her know that there had been a lot of sharing going on. They both chuckle and it’s nice to be able to do that with him again after such a long time. The last thing she ever wanted was to alienate him of all people. He is her person and she hates that they were fighting. 

 

“For those of you that don’t know me, I’m Lucas Ripley.” her thoughts are interrupted by a familiar voice and she can feel her heart beat faster. She didn’t expect him to be there but is happy that he is. Is happy that she gets to see him again. She hopes that she can talk to him. Needs to talk to him. As she listens she can’t help but notice how good he looks wearing a simple sweater and a pair of jeans. He tells them about how the events from the skyscraper incident are still haunting him because of the decisions he had to make and she feels guilty again for yelling at him that night. When he finally sees her he gives her a small smile that she hopes that no one saw it.

 

When the meeting is over and Travis is at the restroom, she spots Ripley at the coffee table and walks towards him. She doesn't know why she is nervous but she is.  _ Maybe because you are totally smitten with him and want to have your wicked way with him? _ her inner voice says and she can feel her cheeks burn.

 

“Hey Chief!” she greets him as he pours himself some coffee.

 

“Hey, it’s been a while.” and she thinks there is hurt in his eyes and voice but she is not sure if that’s not just wishful thinking on her part.

 

“How have you been?” he asks and there is that concern again.

 

“I’m great!” and she tries to sound chipper but she knows that she can’t fool him.

 

“And that’s why you are at a support group?” he teases and gives her a small smile.

 

“Travis and I, we had some issues and we ended up fighting at the station. Sullivan caught us and told us to come here because he doesn’t want that kinda crap at his station.” she explains and Ripley just nods.

 

“But we are okay-ish now. We are getting there.” she assures him.

 

“You could have called me. You know I would have listened.” he keeps his voice low not wanting anyone to listen in on their conversation.

 

“I know. I just didn’t want to bother you. I figured you’d be busy with catching up on work so I tried dealing with it myself. I promise I will call the next time.”

 

“Did anything else happen?” he wonders but before she can answer, Travis is back and standing next to her.

 

“Hey Chief. I didn’t expect to see you here.” he greets him.

 

“Yeah, I come here every week. I find it always helps to talk especially in our line of work.” and he keeps his eyes on her while talking and she knows that Travis notices it and that this will turn into a thing with Travis later that she knows she won’t be able to escape.

 

“I agree. It was good to be here and share and listen.” Ripley nods. “You know, you really shouldn’t be drinking that awful coffee here. Why don’t you join us? We are going for drinks at this place just around the corner and they have amazing coffee as well. My treat.” Travis smiles at him.

 

“Can’t say no to that now, can I?” he says and they leave the center.

 

Ripley and Travis talk on the way to the bar. Vic is walking behind them and just observing and if her eyes wander to Ripley’s ass every once in a while who can blame her. He has a very nice one. When she looks up again they are standing in front of the bar already and. Ripley is holding the door open for them and as she walks in and he walks behind her she feels his hand on the small of her back for just a second and it sends a shiver down her spine all the way down to her toes and she thinks that if his small touch can make her feel that than anything more, like a kiss or even sex, would probably kill her. Oh, how she would love to find out. She thinks that dying that way might be worth it.

 

“Earth to Vic. Do you wanna sit outside or inside?” Travis asks as she stops her improper thoughts and concentrates on what is going on in front of her.

 

“Let’s sit outside. It’s such a nice day.” she finally answers as the waiter shows them to their table.

 

Vic is glad that the tables are round. She feels like it makes this a bit less awkward. Travis is the first to sit down and is already grabbing the menu while Ripley pulls out the chair for her. Before she sits down she takes off her jacket and as he helps her with it their fingers brush, her breath catches in her throat and she can feel the butterflies in her stomach. 

 

“At least some people at this table have manners.” she mumbles as they both sit down and Travis looks up from the menu, looking confused.

 

“What are you talking about?” he had obviously missed that little scene in front of him and Vic is glad and drops the subject of manners and chivalry as she grabs a menu and watches Ripley do the same. They order their drinks. Ripley goes for a beer instead of coffee, Vic does her usual vodka shots and Travis orders some sweet cocktail.

 

They sit there for a while just talking, drinking and enjoying each others company and Vic feels a calmness and happiness settle inside of her that she hasn’t felt in a while. She can’t deny that Ripley has become an important part in her life and watching him and Travis get along makes her heart skip a beat. She feels like she could stay in this moment forever but as the saying goes all good things must come to an end and too soon, Ripley is saying goodbye to them, telling them he has an early shift and can’t stay any longer no matter how much he would like to.

 

“Thanks for the drinks. I had a nice evening. Have a great rest of your night, you two.” and then he is leaving and before Vic can even get sad about it Travis is already in her face.

 

“Okay, spill! What is going on between you and Ripley?” she knew it was coming she just thought that he would give her some time to breath but apparently not. 

 

“What are you talking about?” she tries to play dumb. 

 

“Oh come on, Vic. The sexual tension between the two of you was unbearable. If you two were on a tv show I would be shipping you right now.”

 

“There is no sexual tension between us. We are -- we sort of became friends while he was acting captain. That’s all.” she really doesn’t want to talk about this anymore. She feels like she might end up saying something that she shouldn’t.

 

“Yeah right?” he doesn’t believe her but she is not lying. Not entirely. 

 

“You are acting as if men and women can’t be friends without sex being involved. I mean we are friends too.” she waves between herself and Travis.

 

“Yeah but I am into guys.” he says matter of factly.

 

“So what? We would be sleeping together if you were into women? Is that what you are saying?” she is getting louder and people are looking at them.

 

“Vic, relax. That’s not what I said or meant. Of course men and women can be friends without sex being involved. I was just stating that there is chemistry there. That’s all.”

 

“Yeah, you don’t know what you are talking about, Montgomery. The chief and I don’t have chemistry.” she wants to drop the subject but Travis can be like a dog with a bone, same as her that’s why they became friends in the first place. Plus, he knows her well enough to know that she is hiding something.

 

“What are you not telling me? There is something. I know there is because I know you.” he is not letting this one go.

 

“He saved my life, okay?” Vic finally spills.

 

“While he was acting Captain?” Travis wonders.

 

“No, it was a long time ago.” and so Vic tells him the story that she had only told Ripley so far and Travis is surprised and shocked.

 

“Oh wow. That makes your bond even more special.” he tells her and she rolls her eyes because he won’t let it go that there is something between them.

 

“We don’t have a bond.”

 

“You just said that you two became friends so you do have a bond.” 

 

“It’s nothing, okay. Can we just drop this, please?” she begs but this is Travis after all.

 

“I think there is something there between you two and you are just both too scared to admit it or to act on it.”

 

“Shouldn’t you be the one telling me what a bad idea this is? He is the Chief and I’m just -- I’m just me. Plus, I’m sure he doesn’t see me as anything but Hughes.”

 

“Not from where I was sitting. Okay? And there is nothing wrong with you being -- you. You are pretty damn amazing. And while yes, it’s a bad idea, I also almost died a few weeks ago and it made me realize how short life is and what really matters.” he takes her hand in his and makes her look at him.

 

“I do like him as more than just a friend but this is never going to happen. I don’t want to ruin the friendship we have build and I don’t want to ruin his or my career. So, please can we just drop this now? I really don’t want to talk about it anymore.” and she is crying now and Travis takes her in his arms hugging her close to him.

 

They stay like that for a few minutes before she is pulling away and wiping away her tears.

 

“I won’t mention it again but if you do want to talk about it you know where to find me.” he winks at her.

 

“Thank you, Travis.” she smiles at him before leaning in and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

 

“It’s getting late. We should pay and go.” she notes and he agrees.

 

He drives her home and as she enters her apartment her phone starts rising. She picks up without looking at the caller ID, thinking that it’s Travis.

 

“Travis, I told you I am fine. I’ll get over it. Stop worrying.”

 

“You’ll get over what?” Ripley asks curiously.

 

“Oh crap! Sorry Chief. I thought you were Travis.”

 

“Obviously! Are you okay?” he asks and she can hear the worry in his voice.

 

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s nothing really. Shouldn’t you be sleeping by now?” she wonders.

 

“I couldn’t sleep.” he admits.

 

“Have you tried hot chocolate? I heard that it helps with insomnia.” she can hear him chuckle.

 

“I rather talk to you.” he confesses.

 

“So, what you are saying is that talking to me puts you to sleep?” 

 

“Hey, I didn't say that. You did.” he teases.

 

“You’re an ass.” and it's out before she can stop it. “OMG, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that, sir.” and all she hears is his chuckle and she lets out a sigh of relief.

 

“You are lucky you are so damn likeable or I would have to fire you for that.” he jokes and she can’t believe that he remembered that from their conversation once. It’s been weeks.

 

They end up talking for about an hour. Vic tells him about Sullivan and how things are a bit tense at the Station, how Maya and Andy are at odds with each other and she hates being in the middle of it and doesn’t want to pick sides. She also tells him about Jack and asks him to maybe talk to Jack which he agrees to do. It’s a little past midnight when they finally say goodnight and hang up. As Vic gets ready for bed and thinks of her phone call with Ripley and her earlier talk with Travis she wonder if maybe he was right and there was something there. Something worth exploring. Something worth risking everything for.

 

When she lies down in her bed, she realizes that she is wearing Ripley’s sweater, the one he gave to her that first night. She never gave it back to him but then again he never asked back for it. It no longer smells like him but it makes her think of how she felt that night when he held her hand and just listened to her and she falls asleep with a smile on her lips.


	6. Retreat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ripley spends the day at 19.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update with a new chapter. I have way too many idea with these two and always wants to write something new. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Let me know what you think.

It’s a few days later and Travis is in the gym at the station with Vic, tossing a ball back and forth. It’s their way of exercising, it doesn’t tire them out as much as a real workout and they can talk in between which is what this whole thing is really all about. They had patched up things and were back to being “Travic” as he had named them and Vic couldn’t help but chuckle at the horrible name. He had also given her and Ripley a “shipper name” which was “Vicley” and it was equally as terrible. So, she had named him and Grant “Gravis”. They had laughed about how stupid it all sounded. They decided to blame it all on Bennifer who started this whole trend.

“So, you were trying to spice things back up with a frittata.” Vic asks as they talk about Travis and his relationship with Grant.

“Isn't that the universal equation?” Travis wonders.

“Is it?”

“Breakfast plus bed equals sex in that bed, yes.”

“You know, in your house maybe.” Vic chuckles.

“Besides, there's nothing to spice back up. We were taking things slow, and then I got hurt, and we kind of skipped spice.” he tells her as he tosses the ball to her making Vic almost drop it.

“You skipped spice? You can't skip beginning-of-relationship spice. It's the best of the spices.” she complains and he wishes he has his phone with him to take a picture of her because she looks hilarious. 

“Okay, see, this is what happens when I'm out of your life for too long. You do crazy things like not have hot, round-the-clock sex with your gorgeous boyfriend. It's a c -- It's a crime.”

“Yeah well, and you fall for you-know-who while I’m not in yours, so. I think it’s safe to say that we should never fight again to keep us from doing stupid stuff like that.” Vic nods in agreement.

“Speaking of you-know-who, have you ever wondered what spice with him would be like?” he wiggles his eyebrows suggestively and Vic chuckles before getting serious again.

“I told you we are not talking about that.” she tosses the ball back with a little bit more force and Travis knows that she wants him to drop it but he can’t and won’t.

“Come on, Vic. Just answer that one question. Please!!!!” he begs and she rolls her eyes.

“Okay, okay. Of course I have. I mean, have you seen the guy? He is spice on legs.” Travis nods.

“Do you think he has thought of you that way as well?” he asks.

“I -- I have no idea. I mean, he is one for rules and protocol. I’m sure he wouldn’t let his mind wander there. He would probably reprimand himself for thoughts like that.” Vic chuckles.

“Also, we shouldn’t be talking about this here. Anyone could...” Vic stops as Sullivan walks in, workout gear and boxing gloves on and he starts pounding the punching bag, grunting and getting louder by the second.

Travis and Vic exchange looks before leaving him alone.

“What was that all about?” he wonders.

“Beats me. I mean, this was unusual even for him.” Vic answers as they make their way up the stairs to the bathrooms to take a shower and change.

\----------

He tells himself he is at Station 19 because of the date and to make sure that Sullivan is okay but if he is honest with himself it’s not just that. He does want to observe Sullivan and he wants to see how things are going with him and his team. He had made the decision to spend the day at 19 after his last call with Hughes where she had told him that things weren’t as great as they may seem. So now he is here at 19. 

He realizes that he needs to use the bathroom so he quickly climbs the stairs and goes to the remote one that he had discovered while being the interim captain of 19. He is not even sure how many people know of its existence, it’s that well hidden. As he is about to walk in someone else is walking out and smashes right into him, making them both tumble to the ground with the other person on top of him. As he looks up, he sees who it is and gulps because she is only wearing a towel.

“Hughes...” “Chief...” they say at the same time.

Hughes is struggling to get up but it’s not an easy task without losing her towel and Lucas is having a hard time not getting aroused with her wiggling on top of him, almost naked.

“Please stop moving.” he tells her and she stops immediately and looks down at him and he wishes she didn’t because they are so close and he thinks back to the time where they almost kissed and he wants nothing more than to kiss her right now. Instead, he rolls them over, earning a yelp from her and then he is standing up and offering his hand for her to take. She holds onto the towel with one hand and places her other one into his and then he is lifting her off the ground.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect anyone to be here. I didn’t think anyone knew about this room.” he explains.

“I discovered it a few months ago and it has been a lifesaver. Dean always spends hours in the shower as does Travis and no one knows about this so I get to have it all to myself.”

“Well, I hope you don’t mind sharing.” he winks and realizes how that must have sounded. “OMG, I -- I didn’t mean it like that.” she snickers.

“Relax, Chief. It will be our little secret.” she tells him as she walks away.

He can’t help but appreciate her form. And while he hates to see her leave he definitely loves watching her walk away, so much that he almost forgets that he has to use the bathroom.

\----------

As Vic listens to Sullivan talk, about what the training session today means, she can’t help but blush at what had just happened with Ripley. He had almost seen her naked and the worst part about it was that she actually wouldn’t have minded. She needed to get a grip of herself and stop thinking about her boss in a way that she shouldn’t.

She notices him leaning against the aid car and as she looks at him, she realizes that he is also looking at her and she smiles as he waves and nods at her.

“Did Ripley just wave at you?” Andy wonders. 

“Yeah, so? It's a traditional form of greeting. People wave.” she tells her, trying to sound cool and not let Andy notice how affected she is by the Chief.

“They do. I just didn't realize you and Ripley were waving buddies. But I guess, uh, today's a day full of surprises, so…”

“How I wish we were more than just waving buddies” Vic thinks.

“Don't look now, but Tanner's trying to catch your eye. What kind of buddies are you two these days?” she knows she is deflecting but she doesn’t think that she can keep her cool for too long without Andy noticing.

“Buddy buddies who don't talk or see each other... or know how to act around each other, actually.”

“Have you tried waving? It works.” she chuckles as Andy stares at Ryan while Vic turns back to the Chief only to find him gone.

\----------

The training session is in full swing and Travis is doing his best not to stare at Vic and Ripley but it’s kinda hard to look away. They are like two teenagers. He would look at her when she wasn’t looking and busy with something and she would do the same when he wasn’t looking. Travis was pretty convinced that Ripley had the hots for Vic. It was pretty obvious, would have been to a blind person.

At one point, he notices Vic walk over to Ripley and Travis just can’t help himself. He excuses himself from his group and walks over to where Ripley is talking to a group of police officers.

“You better not be showing them how to bandage a wound.” Travis hears Vic say to Ripley as he looks up at her and chuckles. “He is terrible at it. I mean, really really awful. Good thing we made him the Chief.” she jokes with the officers and they laugh. Ripley just looks at her, eyebrow raised, smirking.

Travis watches them fascinated. If anyone else had done what Vic just did he would have fired them on the spot. 

“Let me show you all how it’s done correctly.” Vic continues as she looks at Ripley expectantly.

“Take off your jacket...sir! And sit down on the table here.” she instructs and he does as told as he rolls up the sleeves of his white button-down shirt. He keeps his gaze on Vic the entire time.

Travis wonders how anyone is watching this and not thinking that these two are sleeping together. It makes him wonder if Vic has been lying to him because damn, they are hot.

So he continues watching them as Vic demonstrates how to take care of an open wound and by now she is standing between his legs, really close and Travis swears that the Chief has stopped breathing. Everyone is concentrating on what Vic is doing that they don’t notice Ripley staring at her like she is the sun, the moon and the stars.

When she is done, she steps away from Ripley and he can see Ripley sigh and it dawns on him that the Chief has actual feelings for his friend. It’s not just sexual tension there but something more.

“Hey Montgomery, I’m not here to babysit PD all by myself. Get your butt over here and help me.” he hears Dean yell from across the hall. He takes one last look at the Chief and Vic before walking back to do what he is paid for.

\----------

The training session has ended and he had stayed the entire day. He tells himself that he had to after sending Sullivan home but he really wasn’t needed there but he just didn’t want to leave. Her demonstrating on him had left him breathless and it took everything in him to not take her right there in front of everyone. He really needed to get a grip of himself. This was no way to think of one of his subordinates and that’s exactly what she was.

“She is so much more and you know it”, the little voice inside his head says and he knows it’s true. She has become so important to him in the last couple of months. He loved talking to her. It was nice to have someone to talk to and not just about the job. He hadn’t had that since, well probably since his first marriage since him and his second wife Eva barely talked.

He is standing in the kitchen drinking coffee when she walks in.

“Hey Chief.” she smiles at him and it’s his favorite thing. He could stare at her smile all day long.

He watches her as she takes out out a box from the fridge. 

“I'm surprised you stuck around for the, um -- the whole training session. You just like it that much here? I mean, o-overall, we are pretty likeable especially me.” he chuckles at her. She really is likeable. Maybe even lovable, he thinks to himself.

“No. It's my job to visit all the stations. So it's more, uh... It's more that I like my job.” he explains.

“Oh, right, duh, obviously.” she doesn’t sound convinced. 

“I do like 19, though. I like the energy here. Of course, I, uh... I like the people.” he confesses as he looks at her and she gulps.

“Spice.” she says underneath her breath.

“Excuse me?” 

“What? No. Oh, nothing. No, I wasn't -- Just, uh -- oh, what'd you say?” she stutters.

“I didn't say anything.” 

“Me neither.”

“No?” he wonders.

“No. Mm.”

“Huh. Okay.” he can’t help but look at her lips for a second before looking back into her eyes.

“Okay. Uhm, do you wanna come up to the roof with us and celebrate Miller’s birthday?” she asks.

“I thought he said he doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

“You should know us by now, sir. We never listen.” she jokes and he laughs. He does know that all too well.

“As much as I would like to, I can’t. I have an early morning and should probably go home.” he excuses himself.

“Oh.” she looks quite disappointed and he doesn’t know why he declined the offer. He wants nothing more than to spend more time with her but he fears that her team will see right through him and he can’t have that.

“Sorry, Hughes. Maybe another time.” he tells her as he puts the mug into the sync and leaves.

\----------

Vic watches him leave and it’s hard to not be disappointed. She really thought he would stay and maybe walk her home afterwards and maybe, just maybe…

“Hey Vic, did the Chief just leave?” Travis interrupts her thoughts.

“Yeah. He has to get up early.” she says somewhat grumpy.

Travis walks over to her and takes her in his arms.

“This is so stupid. He is our boss and I shouldn’t be upset about him not staying but I am. I thought, I just thought that… Okay no. I need to get myself together. This is a bad idea anyway and him leaving was probably for the best. I shouldn't even be entertaining the thought of this.” she says putting on a brave face.

“Maybe you should just go home?” Travis suggests but she shakes her head.

“No. It’s Miller’s birthday and I need that chocolate cake. So let’s go not celebrate.” she tells him as she grabs the box with the cake and heads towards the roof, trying to forget all about tall, blonde and handsome and just enjoy the time with her friends.


	7. Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria gets hurt on the job and Lucas is there for her with a little help from Travis.

Lucas is at work, thinking about the other night when Hughes asked him to stay and he wished he had said yes. His feelings for the younger firefighter have developed to something that they shouldn’t have but he couldn’t help but to feel that way about her. She was amazing and he loved talking to her. She understood him and he hadn’t had that in a long time if ever.

His thoughts are interrupted by the ringing of his phone. He looks at the caller id and doesn’t recognize the number.

“Chief Ripley here.” he answers.

“Chief, it’s Montgomery. I’m sorry for calling you on your personal phone but Hughes was shot and I thought you should know.” 

Lucas stops breathing for a moment. Did he just hear right? His mind is racing a mile a minute. He wants to ask what happened and if she is okay but no words are coming out of his mouth.

“Sir, she is fine. It was a stray bullet and went through her shoulder. She is in surgery right now. She will be okay. I will call or text when I have news.” 

Lucas still can’t speak.

“Sir, are you still there? Did you hear what I just said?” Montgomery sounds concerned. Lucas finally finds his voice again.

“Yes, sorry Montgomery. I’m fine. Please let me know as soon as she is out of surgery.”

“Of course, sir. Don’t worry, Vic is strong. She will be fine.” he assures him.

“I know, thanks for calling me and Montgomery...” he starts.

“Don’t worry, sir. Your secret is safe with me and I know that it’s none of my business but I think you should talk to Vic.” he advises.

“You’re right, Montgomery. It’s none of your business.” Lucas says in a firm voice.

“Sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to overstep. I will update you when I know more. Bye, Chief.” Lucas hears the click as Montgomery hangs up.

Lucas can’t stop worrying. He knows that Montgomery said that it’s not serious but a gunshot wound always is no matter what and to think that she is currently lying on an operating table and is being worked on, makes his heart hurt. 

He tries to distract himself with work but his thoughts always go back to Hughes. He just can’t stop thinking about her. He keeps checking his phone for updates but there is nothing and he is getting worried now. 

Maybe there were complications, he thinks.

He wants to go to the hospital to see her, to make sure that she is okay but he can’t do that. The wait is killing him and there is nothing he can do about it.

He tries working again but gets interrupted by his assistant.

“Chief Ripley, Captain Sullivan for you on line 1.” she tells him. Lucas knows why Sully is calling him and he has to keep his voice neutral and he hopes that he doesn’t freeze up like he did with Montgomery. His former best friend would see right through him.

“Chief Ripley, I’m calling to inform you that Victoria Hughes has been hit by a stray bullet during a rescue. She just came out of surgery and the doctor said that she will be fine. She will be out of service for a few weeks.” he tells him and Lucas breathes a sigh of relief.

“Is she awake?” Lucas asks.

“Not yet. She just came out of surgery. I will have Montgomery stay with her while the rest of the team goes back to work. I just thought I should let you know.” 

“Thank you, Sullivan. Stay safe out there.” he tells him before ending the call.

Lucas is relieved to know that Hughes is fine. Now she just has to wake up.

He feels like his heartbeat is finally going back to normal and he can breathe again. He tries to work again. He has a lot of paperwork to finish up and it’s a welcome distraction until his phone vibrates. It’s Montgomery letting him know that Hughes is awake and is feeling fine and it feels like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders.

Lucas cancels all meetings and calls for the rest of the day. He just can’t deal with people. All he wants to do is go to the hospital. He wonders when he will see her again.

It’s late and he is packing up to go home when his phone rings. He picks up after the first ring.

“Please, tell me she is okay and there were no complications.” he demands with worry in his voice.

“She is fine. In fact, she is negotiating her release as we speak and it looks like she is winning which is quite an accomplishment considering she is going up against Chief Bailey but I guess she just knows her way around Chiefs.” he hears the young firefighter chuckle and Lucas can’t help but chuckle too.

“Yeah that sounds like her. So, she is really okay?” Lucas needs to hear it again.

“She really is, sir. The reason I am calling is that someone needs to stay with her overnight and I think that someone should be you. I think she would want you there.”

“Montgomery, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“It was your name she called out when she woke up.” Lucas’ breath hitches as he hears that.

“What?”

“When she woke up after surgery, she called for you. You were the first person on her mind and don’t worry, no one else heard her. It was just me in the room. I really think you should be there for her tonight. She needs you there.” he is pleading with Lucas.

Lucas sighs. This is a bad idea but he needs to see her too. He needs to make sure that she is fine.

“Let me know when you are on your way to her apartment and I will be there.” he finally tells Montgomery.

“Thank you, Chief. She will be happy to see you.” 

About twenty minutes later, Lucas receives a text, saying that they are on their way. 

He stops at a grocery store for some food and then he is driving to her place. He climbs the stairs, two at a time, and is finally standing in front of her door. 

He is nervous. He has never been inside her apartment and he was going to spend the night here and he feels like this is so wrong. He should have said no but it’s too late now, so he just knocks and hopes for the best.

The door opens and Montgomery is standing in front of him.

“Thank god you’re here. I was worried that you changed your mind.” he tells him.

“I really shouldn’t be here. I’m her boss.” Lucas tells him.

“Maybe. I don’t know. I just know that she is happier when you are around, so just be there for her. We need her to recover and come back to work and you may be the medicine that she needs.” both men chuckles.

“Thank you, Montgomery.” Lucas offers him his hand which the younger man accepts.

He gives him quick instructions on the pain medication and everything he needs to know about where he can find things in Hughes’ apartment and then he is walking towards the door.

“I will leave now. You have my number. Should there be any problems, please just call me.” Lucas nods and then he watches Montgomery leave.

He walks into the kitchen to put away the groceries and walks back into the living room. Hughes is nowhere to be found. He thinks that she is probably asleep in her bedroom until he hears a groan coming from one of the rooms which he assumes is her bedroom and then there is cursing.

“Travis, can you please come in here. I need your help.” he hears her call out and then there is a hiss and he knows that she is in pain, so he doesn’t think and just walks into her bedroom.

He finds her struggling with her shirt, trying to take it off. Her right arm is in a sling and he hates seeing her hurt like that. 

She finally looks up and her eyes go wide in shock at the sight of him.

“Chief? What are you doing here? Where is Travis?” she looks embarrassed.

“He called me to stay here with you tonight and keep an eye on you.” he explains and Hughes just stares at him.

“Oh okay.”

“I hope that’s okay. I -- I was really worried about you.” he confesses and her face softens.

“You were?” she looks almost hopeful.

“Of course. You are my friend and I care about you.” and her face falls again and he knows that he just said the wrong thing.

“Of course. Friends.” she sounds disappointed and he hates it but he can’t do this right now. She is hurt and on pain medication. He doesn’t think it’s the right time to confess anything to her in her current state.

“Well, friend. I need your help to change into my pyjamas. So...” he looks at her stunned.

“Sure. Okay.” he says nervously as he walks closer to her and then he is slowly unbuttoning her shirt and he is trying not to look at her, so he closes his eyes and it makes it harder but if he looks at her, he may do something stupid. He has imagined being in her bedroom and taking her clothes off before but she wasn’t hurt or on drugs in those fantasies. He needed to focus.

“You know this would go a whole lot faster if you didn’t do it bird box style.” she teases him and he chuckles but his eyes remain closed. 

He finally manages to pull off her shirt. A moment later, he feels her hand on his and she is guiding him to what feels like the waistband of her sweats.

“Since you are not opening your eyes I figured I would help or we will never get this done.” 

He pulls her pants down in one swift move. 

“Where are your pjs?” Lucas asks.

“Behind you, second drawer.”

He turns around and opens his eyes again. He opens up the drawer and his breath catches in his throat. Instead of her pjs, he finds sexy lingerie and he curses under his breath. She did this on purpose.

“Oh sorry, the pain meds are messing with my mind. It’s the first drawer.” she says innocently.

He finally finds what he is looking for and turns around. He doesn’t close his eyes this time but he also doesn’t look at her body. He looks her straight in the eyes and her breath hitches as he walks closer and starts putting on her pyjamas. He keeps eye contact the entire time and he doesn’t think he ever had a more intimate moment with anyone without actually being intimate. 

When he is done he hears her jawn and then hiss again.

“I’m gonna go and grab your pills.” she nods at him.

He comes back a moment later to find her lying in bed, dead to the world. He puts the pills and water on her nightstand and then brushes a strand of hair out of her face before leaning down to kiss her forehead.

“Goodnight, Victoria. Please, don’t ever scare me like that again.” he tells her before walking over to the chair next to her bed. He makes himself comfortable, as comfortable as he can, and then he is drifting off to sleep himself.

\----------

Vic wakes up the next morning feeling a dull pain in her shoulder and she remembers what had happened.

She was shot at work. She had never thought something like that could ever happen to her. She looks at the time and sees that it’s early. Not even 8 am. She notices the water and two pills on her nightstand, so she drowns them.

When she hears soft snores, she realizes that she is not alone. She turns around to find Ripley sitting in her chair. He is asleep and although he looks peaceful, she knows from experience that her chair is not very comfortable to sleep in and yet he still decided to sleep in it instead of the couch that would have been more pleasant.

She smiles at him and remembers him calling her Victoria for the first time when he thought that she was sleeping and then he kissed her forehead and told her to not scare him again. 

She slowly gets up from her bed and walks over to where he is sleeping and before she can stop herself, her fingers are in his soft curls and she is brushing his hair back, then she is leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

“Good morning, Lucas. It’s time for you to wake up.” she whispers into his ear before straightening up again.

She watches him as he slowly opens his eyes and looks at her as he stretches and winces in pain.

“You should have slept on the couch. That chair is so uncomfortable.”

“But I wanted to be close to you.” he says and she smiles at him. “Just in case you needed something or were in pain.” he finishes and she nods.

“Of course. I just took the pills you left on my nightstand, so I’m fine.” she tries not to show her emotions but she knows that she is failing miserably.

“I was thinking about making us some breakfast but I know that I have nothing in my fridge so...”

She watches him as he gets up from the chair and looks at her.

“You are injured, so you are not going to lift a finger. I bought groceries last night, so I will make us breakfast. I pushed all my meetings this morning to this afternoon, so I don’t have to be at work until noon. I can help you with whatever you need before I have to leave.”

“Well, I do have to take a shower.” she tells him as she winks at him and his entire face goes red and it has Vic laughing.

“Relax! I was just teasing. I will have Maya and Andy help me with that. They promised they would visit me tonight after their shift.” she tells him as she heads out of her bedroom.

\----------

Lucas finds out that she loves maple glaze and puts it on basically everything that he makes for her that morning. 

They eat in comfortable silence and he loves this. He loves just being with her but he can’t and won’t do anything while she is injured and on pain meds. He was raised better than that. He needed her with a clear mind.

“Lucas, what are you thinking about?” she asks and he notices that she had just called him by his first name.

“You just called me Lucas.” 

“Sorry, sir. I shouldn’t have.” she looks embarrassed and is trying to get up to walk away from him but he stops her.

“Victoria, it’s fine.” he smiles at her and she smiles back.

“I know I shouldn’t ask but can I get a hug?” and Lucas can’t deny her that. He can’t deny himself that. A hug would be fine, he tells himself.

He opens up his arms and she steps into him, brings her good arm around his waist while both his arms go around hers and he pulls her closer. Her head is resting against his shoulder and her hair is tickling his neck. They stay like that for a while, neither daring to move. Lucas breaths her in and it all feels so right.

“You know, I could stay like this forever.” she admits and the next thing he knows, his alarm is beeping and he has never been more grateful for his alarm going off then in this moment or he would have kissed her.

“I need to go. I’m sorry, Victoria.” he gives her a kiss on the forehead and then he is gathering his things and leaving.

Saved by the bell, he thinks as he walks away from her.

\----------

Vic stares after him and she can’t believe that he just fled her apartment. She is surprised that he didn’t leave a Lucas shaped hole in her wall, that’s how fast he was out.

She sighs. She doesn’t know what to think anymore. She is sure that he is feeling it too. She wonders if the possibility of losing his job is the reason why he is not taking a chance on them. It drives her crazy. She has those feelings for him yet it doesn’t look like anything is ever going to happen between them unless she does something. But what if she is reading it wrong? What if he really only cares for her as a friend? She could ruin everything and lose him completely.

“Why does love have to be so complicated?”, she wonders as she finishes up her breakfast.

She spends the rest of the day in bed, wallowing in self-pity, snacking on the chocolate that Lucas bought.

As promised Maya and Andy show up later that night with Travis and Grant in tow. Grant cooks for them while Maya and Andy help her shower. 

Travis walks into her bedroom as the girls help her get dressed.

“Can I talk to Vic for a moment, please?” he asks them and they leave the room.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you called Lucas last night?” Travis’ eyebrows quirk up at the mention of Lucas.

“Lucas? So, does this mean something happened last night?”

Vic shakes her head.

“This morning, then?” he wonders and she shakes her head again.

“That doesn’t make sense.” he tells her.

“It makes perfect sense. He doesn’t want me like that.” 

“That’s not what I saw. Maybe he just didn’t want to make a move on you while you are sick and popping pills.”

“Or maybe he really just doesn’t want to be with me and I gotta accept it. We are friends and that should be enough.” she feels defeated. 

“Don’t give up on this just yet, Vic. Trust me, when I told him you were shot, that really got to him. He cares about you. I know it.” her friend assures her.

“I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t really want to think about him tonight. I just want to enjoy a nice meal with my friends. Can we do that?” Travis nods before hugging her.

“I love you, Vic. I’m glad you are okay.” he tells her and she smiles at him.

“I love you too, Trav. Thanks for taking care of me.” she kisses him on the cheek.

She spends the rest of the night laughing with her friends and it makes her forget all about Lucas for a while until he calls her at midnight after everyone has left. She thinks about not picking up and letting it go to voicemail but she does want to hear his voice, so she picks up.

“Hi!” she simply says.

“Hey, sorry for calling so late. I just left work. It was a long day. I canceled all my meetings yesterday, so I had to do all of them today.” he explains.

“Okay.” 

“How are you feeling? How is the shoulder and the pain?”

“I’m fine. I had some people from 19 over. They kept me company and I was about to go to bed. I’m exhausted.”

“Oh, of course. I’m sorry for interrupting. I’ll leave you to it.” he sounds somewhat crushed.

“Don’t be. I’m glad you called. I missed your voice.” she confesses and smiles.

“Well then I’m glad to be of service.” he chuckles.

“I’ll see you soon?” she asks.

“Yeah, you will. I promise. Goodnight, Victoria. Sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight, Lucas.” she tells him and hangs up as she goes to sleep and dreams of him.

  
  



	8. The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic doesn't like being cooped up inside her apartment. Not even a storm can keep her from Station 19.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This became way longer than I originally thought and it also changed plenty compared to what I originally planned. I hope you all enjoy!

It’s been ten day since she got shot, ten days of sitting at home alone and going crazy. Her teammates have tried to visit her every now and then but work was crazy and she hadn’t seen Lucas ever since that morning he ran away. She knows that he is preoccupied with getting all stations ready for the upcoming storm. She can’t blame him for doing his job. They talk on the phone every night though and she is grateful for that. It’s mostly just talking about their day. They ignore the elephant in the room which is their feelings for each other and Vic accepts it, for now. She doesn’t want to push this because it’s too important to her and she doesn’t want to lose him. She wants to have him in her life even if it’s just as her friend. At least for now.

She is getting ready for friendsgiving at Dean’s houseboat and she is excited to spend the day with her friends. As she sits on her bed, she contemplates to call Lucas and invite him to come with her but what would she tell her team. Travis is the only one that knows about their “friendship” and it would probably make the others uncomfortable to have the big boss there with them. So she puts the phone away and instead starts getting dressed. 

She is about to head out the door when she gets a text from Travis, telling her that friendsgiving has been canceled because they were called in and that Ripley is with them and will probably be spending the day there.

She sighs in frustration. 

“Ah, screw it. I’m going insane here. I’m going to the station.” she decides. 

She risks it and drives herself. Her shoulder is healing nicely and she doesn’t feel any pain and 19 is not that far away. If it was up to her she would be back at work already but she still has another eleven days to go. She is sure by the time she can finally return to work she will have gone mad from being cooped up in her apartment. 

It takes her ten minutes to get to 19. She parks the car and goes inside. She can hear someone in the turnout room and as she enters, she finds Lucas there, stocking haligans.

“Did you get demoted or why are  _ you _ the one stocking haligans?” she teases, startling him.

“Dammit Victoria! I’m gonna get you that bell after all, so I can always hear you.”

“Nice to see you too, Lucas.”

“What are you doing here?” he asks as he stops working and walks over to where she is standing, looking at her shoulder.

“I was supposed to have friendsgiving with my team but then they got called in and I was already dressed and ready and I’m going insane at home, Lucas.” he chuckles. “That’s not funny.” she whines.

“How did you get here?”

“Uhm, I...” she knows he will be upset with her if she tells him that she drove there.

“Did you drive here?” his hands are on his hips and he gives her a disapproving look. 

“I did but...” she doesn’t get to finish the sentence though.

“Are you crazy? Your shoulder is not healed yet and there is a storm outside and you could have gotten seriously hurt. How can you be this stupid?”

“Excuse me? Did you really just call me stupid?” she is mad.

“Well, if the shoe fits.” he replies dryly, obviously upset with her.

“I just wanted to see you all again. I’ve been cooped up in my apartment for days and no one has come to visit me because everyone is busy with work. You promised you would visit and you didn’t. So, I figured if the mountain won't come to Mohammed then let's take Mohammed to the mountain because it looks like there is no other way to see you otherwise.” she is half-yelling at him and he sighs.

“Victoria, I’m sor...” he gets interrupted by Gibson walking in.

“Chief, is everything okay. I heard yelli… Vic? What are you doing here? How did you get here?”

Vic huffs. 

“Don’t even try to give me a lecture about how stupid it was to drive here. Lu-The Chief just did and I get it. If I had been a guy he would have probably patted me on the back.” she yells at them both and then storms out of the room.

\----------

“Sir, what was this all about?” Jack asks Ripley as they watch Vic storm out..

“Nothing. I just don’t want my people taking unnecessary risks. She could have gotten hurt out there and I know how much she means to the team. I want my people to be safe.”

Jack can tell that there is more to this. He realizes that it’s not just the team that Vic means a lot to. She means a lot to the Chief as well. Vic’s slip up when she almost called him Lucas instead of Chief makes complete sense now.

Jack wonders how long that had been going on with them.

“Gibson, did you hear a word I just said?” Ripley interrupts his thoughts.

“I’m sorry sir. Can you repeat that?”

“FInish up with the haligans, please. You are staying at the station today. I will be out with the rest of the team.”

Jack nods at him and then watches him leave.

\----------

  
  


Vic stomps up the stairs to find the rest of her team, minus Andy and Sullivan, there.

“Vic? Shouldn’t you be at home resting?” Travis asks as he walks over to her to pull her in a hug.

“I’ve been resting for ten days and I’m going insane. I miss you guys.” she hugs him back. “And yes, I did drive her myself and I’m fine. So, please don’t lecture me or call me stupid.” she tells them.

They all nod at her.

“Who called you stupid?” Travis whispers into her ear so no one can hear him.

“Luke!” she mouths, obviously upset.

“He was probably just worried.” 

“Whose side are you on?” she whines.

“Yours of course but still.” he gives her a look but Vic ignores him.

Instead she looks around and notices that Ryan and an older Ryan look-alike are there as well.

She walks over and extends her hand.

“Hi, I don’t think we have met. My name is Victoria but everyone calls me Vic here.” the guy is handsome, just as chiseled as Ryan.

“Greg Tanner, I’m Ryan’s dad. Pleasure to meet you.” he smiles at her and she smiles back.

“The pleasure is all mine.” she says, not letting go of his hand until she hears someone clear his throat and it’s Lucas and he is looking at them. She feels like if looks could kill, then Greg Tanner would be six feet under now, so she quickly lets go of his hand and walks over to Travis, ignoring Lucas.

“Did you guys move friendsgiving to here? Is it still happening?” she looks excited and Ben laughs as he puts his arms around her shoulder, careful not to hurt her.

“Finally, someone who is as excited as I am.” he gives Vic the biggest smile.

“I’ve missed you guys and the company. I’ve been alone at home and it has gotten pretty lonely.” she explains.

“I know the feeling.” Greg agrees and smiles at her. She smiles back at him and then looks at Lucas who looks jealous and she loves every second of it. 

“That will teach him,” she thinks.

The klaxxon goes off interrupting them and the firefighters on call jump up and leave the kitchen to get ready.

Lucas gives her one last look before he leaves too.

Vic just looks after them and wishes that she could go with them. She misses her job. 

“Stupid bullet!” she curses before joining Ryan and his dad at the table.

\----------

Lucas leaves Gibson to finish the job and walks into Sullivan’s office. He is frustrated. The last thing he wanted to do was fight with Victoria. He had missed her and hated that he wasn’t able to visit her at all and now she was mad at him and he deserved it. He shouldn’t have called her stupid. He needed to apologize to her.

He exits the office and heads upstairs to the kitchen. As he walks in he spots Victoria shaking some older guys hand who looks a lot like an older Ryan Tanner. She is smiling at him and he is smiling back and he feels like going all caveman on them but of course he doesn’t. Instead he clears his throat and that gets her attention. She drops his hand and walks over to Montgomery.

As he listens to her, he realizes how lonely she must have felt and he knows that he really needs to apologize to her.

He watches as the older guy agrees with her and he can’t help but be jealous as she smiles at the guy while still ignoring him until she finally looks at Lucas with a smug smile.

Before he can say anything, he hears the klaxxon go off. He takes one last look at Victoria and then he walks out the kitchen to go do his job.

He is riding with Bishop and Montgomery and is in a shitty mood. He kinda wishes that he hadn’t given Gibson the order to stay. He would rather be at the station right now, talking to Victoria and clearing things up with her. Bishop interrupts his thoughts.

“Chief, I just want to say how much I admire your leadership style. You’re out here in the trenches with us. It’s admirable.” Lucas hears her but he doesn’t reply.

“Sir, are you okay?” she asks.

“Yeah, sure Bishop. Concentrate on the road, please.” he tells her and she nods her head.

“Of course, sir. Sorry, sir!” 

They drive in silence before he hears the tires screech as Bishop hits the breaks and a tree goes through their windshield and the truck comes to a halt.

“Dammit!” he screams. “Are you two okay?” he asks Bishop and Montgomery.

“Yes, Chief.” the say in unison.

They exit the truck to look at the damage. Lucas realizes that he needs to break up the trunk so they can move again. He orders Bishop to grab a team and head to the victim on foot while he and Montgomery take care of the tree. 

“She is upset with you, you know?” Montgomery states once the rest of the team is gone.

“I know! I didn’t mean to call her stupid. I was just mad that she was being reckless by driving during a storm. Anything could have happened. She could have gotten hurt.” Lucas explains.

“Yeah but she didn’t.”

“Yeah. Who was that guy she was flirting with?” Lucas asks, making the younger firefighter chuckle.

“That was Ryan’s dad and she wasn’t flirting with him. She was just being polite. If only you could get your head out of your ass, you would realize that the only person she is flirting with is you… sir.” he tells him and Lucas stares at him for a moment and Montgomery shrugs like he didn’t just tell his boss to get his head out of his ass. Lucas shakes his head but lets it go because he doesn’t really want to have this talk right now.

“Enough talking, we need to get to work.” Lucas changes the subject, grabs the chainsaw and starts cutting the trees. He watches Montgomery do the same.

\----------

Back at the Station, Vic is sitting with the guys and playing cards.

“What’s the update, Gibson?” Captain Herrera asks as Jack looks at the TV.

“Nothing. Same as before. Winds are at 87 miles per hour now. Lines are down all over the city. Whole lot of power out, and I haven’t heard anything from any of our people out there.”

Vic is getting somewhat worried that they haven’t heard from anyone. If something happens to Lucas, she would never forgive herself that the last thing they did was to fight.

“Because everybody knows what they’re doing. They’ll call you if they need anything.” Captain Herrera says and Vic knows that he is right but still, she worries and she understands why Lucas was so upset with her for driving in the storm when she is still injured.

They continue to play cards. Vic is not really interested in playing. There is just too much on her mind.

“You sure are quiet.” she hears Greg say to Ryan.

“Just playing the game.” his son replies and there is definitely tension there. Vic’s nosy nature wants to know what this is about.

“Yeah, I don’t think so. I recognize that look. It’s the same face you had as a kid when I found out you stole my credit card to buy a plane ticket.”

“Really?” Vic and Grant ask surprised.

“Yeah, you should’ve gotten in so much trouble for that, but I guess I didn’t really have the heart. I was kind of proud. I mean, you did do it for love.” Greg continues.

“Now that is interesting.” Vic thinks.

“We really don’t need to talk about this now.” Ryan tries to stop his father but to no avail. Jack looks annoyed on Ryan’s behalf while Captain Herrera listens.

“He was really clever about it, too. He distracts me first. Then, he takes my wallet, credit card --”

“Sounds like Ryan doesn’t want to talk about this.” Jack interrupts and Vic sits up in her chair. Jack standing up for Ryan is new. She feels like she should be getting popcorn for this.

“No, you gotta hear this. Listen, he did it for Andy.” Greg keeps talking and it finally clicks. He is talking about the plane ticket to NYC, so Andy could bring her dad back home. “That’s what the ticket was for -- to get her to New York after the Towers came down.”

“That’s how she got there? I didn’t know you did that.” Captain Herrera sounds surprised as he looks at Ryan.

“Let’s just keep playing or something.” Ryan is super annoyed with this entire conversation, Vic can tell.

“A guy can brag on his own kid, can’t he, a little bit?” Greg says.

“He’s a cop. You know, you keep bringing up this story about how he broke the law. He’s been clear about not wanting to talk about it.” Jack ignore the Captain’s warning and looks super pissed especially when Greg lays a hand on him, telling him that he was only kidding and the next thing she knows Gibson is pushing Ryan’s dad against the wall, wanting to punch him but Ryan is already on his feet and so is the Captain, telling him that it’s enough.

Jack looks at them and then walks away.

Vic looks at the men and decides to go after Jack. He has been acting weird lately. She wants to know why.

“I’ll go talk to him. Please try not to kill each other. Okay?!” she tells them and then goes after Jack.

\----------

He is sitting in the gym when he hears a knock at the door. He looks up to find Vic standing there.

“Do you mind if I come in?”

“It’s a public space. I doubt I could stop you even if I tried.” she chuckles at him.

She walks in and sits down beside him on the bench.

“How is the shoulder?” he asks not wanting to talk about himself although he knows that he will have to. Vic just has a way of extracting information from people.

“It’s okay. A little sore but mostly okay. I wish I could come back to work already. Being home alone sucks.” she tells him.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been to visit you. I’ve been -- I’ve been busy.” she nods at him.

“It’s okay. What’s going on with you Jack? You are not usually like that.”

He looks up at her and sees the concern in her eyes, hears it in her voice too.

“It’s nothing really.” he lies.

“I know you are lying. Remember that call two weeks ago when you fell asleep in the truck with me and Sullivan. You had a nightmare. What was that about?” 

Jack sighs. He should probably tell someone. 

“I’ve been having nightmares since the skyscraper and I can’t seem to shake them. I dream of being stuck there and that no one is coming for me and when I wake up I can’t breath and I’m sweating and I just don’t know what to do about it.”

“I had them too. I was dreaming how we all die inside the skyscraper and it was terrifying.” she confesses.

“How did you get over it?” he wonders.

“I talked to Lu -- I mean Chief Ripley.” and there is that slip again.

“Is there something going on between the two of you?” he asks her point blank.

“What? No, of course not. Don’t be stupid. Why would there be anything going on between us?” she babbles and Jack knows for sure that there is something going on there. He raises an eyebrow at her, obviously not believing her.

“Come on, Vic. I heard you two fighting and that’s the second time you wanted to call him Lucas. Since when are you and the Chief on first name basis?”

“It’s not what you think.” she tells him. “We are friends.”

“With benefits.” Jack finishes and she shakes her head at him.

“No benefits. When he was acting Captain here, I woke up from a nightmare one night and went into the kitchen and found him there. He made me hot chocolate and then we talked and he listened and then we just kept on talking and it helped and we kinda developed a friendship.” Jack looks at her skeptical.

“But that’s not all, right?”

“Well, nothing is going on with us. Nothing physical at least.” she admits.

“So, you like him?” Jack asks curiously.

“I guess I do but I’m not sure if he feels the same way. It’s complicated, I guess with him being the Chief and me being me.”

“Well, he would be a fool to pass up on someone as amazing as you.” he winks at her and Vic gives him a big smile.

“That charm will get you anywhere, Gibson but it won’t make me forget that you need help.” Jack hangs his head.

“Jack, you need to talk to someone. You can talk to Lucas or you can come with me to this support group that Travis and I went to. I think it would help and well, I’m obviously free and have nothing else to do.” she chuckles.

Jack smiles at her.

“Thank you, Vic. You are a really good friend.” He hugs her awkwardly because of how they are sitting on the bench and she hugs him back.

“Don’t you ever forget that. And Jack, please don’t tell anyone about, you know.” he nods and gives her a reassuring smile.

There is commotion coming from outside which means their team must be back.

“Okay. Now let’s go upstairs and get some food in our bellies because I don’t know about you but I am starving.” Vic tells him as she rubs her belly and it makes Jack laugh and it feels nice to laugh like that. It’s been a while.

He tells her to go on and he would join them in a bit. She gives him a nod, stands up and leans down to give him a kiss on the head and then she leaves the gym.

The talk with Vic definitely helped and he thinks that he will take her up on the offer to go to a support group with her. It can’t hurt to go there and listen to people who have been through the same stuff and then eventually share himself.

\----------

Vic leaves the gym and she is glad that she had the talk with Jack. She is little less happy about another person knowing about her feelings for Lucas but she trusts Jack to not tell anyone. After all she is the one that can’t keep a secret and not Jack.

She watches as Lucas goes into the storage room and follows him. She closes the door behind her as she walks into the room.

“Hey!” she startles him again.

He turns around to look at her and he looks exhausted.

“What did I tell you about startling me?”

“That you are old and your heart can’t take it?” she is being a smart ass and she knows it. 

“I’m sorry!” they say in unison and chuckle.

“Look, I don’t think you are stupid. I think you are actually pretty smart but you were reckless to drive here during a storm when your shoulder isn’t healed completely and if something had happened to you. I would just -- I would hate to lose you. Your friendship means everything to me.” she tries not to cringe at the F word, hates that he keeps on friendzoning them but she gets it. His job means a lot to him and he doesn’t want to have to give it up.

“Your friendship means everything to me too. I’m sorry for not understanding where you were coming from. When you were out there, I was worried that something would happen to you and the last thing we did was fight.” she looks down and he takes a step closer to her and then he is crushing her to him and just holding her close. They stay like that for a while, neither wanting to move away. Lucas’ hugs give her great comfort and this one is no exception. 

“Are you gonna stay for friendsgiving?” she asks while still in his embrace.

“Yeah, and afterwards I’m driving you home.” she tries to pull away and protest but he doesn’t let her and just pulls her closer.

“No protesting. This is an order from your Chief. The faster you heal the sooner you can return to work. I know you hate being alone at home and I’m sorry for not visiting. I will try and do better, I promise.” she pulls away again but this time he lets her.

“Okay. I promise to rest and not do anything I shouldn’t like drive during a storm.” he raises an eyebrow obviously not believing her.

“Go upstairs. I will be with you guys in a bit.” he tells her as he kisses her forehead.

“Okay.” she says as she walks out, leaving the door wide open.

\----------

He finds Chief Ripley in the storage room and knocks on the door.

“Gibson! What can I do for you?” he asks.

“Sir, I need to talk to you about something. Do you have a minute for me?” Ripley nods.

Jack tells him everything and the Chief nods in understanding.

“I think you telling me just now was a great first step. I would suggest going to a support group. They helped me. They still do.”

“Yeah, Hughes told me about it.” the Chief’s eyes soften at the mention of Vic and there is small smile playing on his lips that could be easily missed. Jack can tell that the Chief is totally smitten with his friend.

“About Hughes...” Jack starts and Ripley stares at him willing him not to continue but Jack has to say it. “She is amazing and deserves to be treated accordingly. That’s all I’m gonna say about this. The rest is none of my business.“ Ripley nods at him.

“You lot from 19 really care about each other. It’s great to see you guys be an actual family.” Jack smiles at him.

“We should probably go upstairs.” Ripley nods at him and they make their way upstairs to join the others for friendsgiving.

\----------

Vic is sitting at the table and waiting for Lucas and Jack to show up. They finally walk in and she smiles at them both. Jack takes the seat across from her instead of the one next to her and lets Lucas sit there, winking at Vic who tries not to blush.

“I hope you don’t mind if I join.” Lucas says and everyone nods enthusiastically at him.

“Actually, I have something I’d prefer not to keep from you any longer.” he quickly glances at Vic. “It’s not official yet, but, uh...after everything we did today together...it feels somehow wrong not to take this opportunity to announce that...” for just a second she thinks he will finally confess his undying love for her but she is not stupid. He wouldn’t do it here like that. “Maya Bishop will be promoted Lieutenant very soon.”

Now that, she didn’t expect.

“There is an opening at Station 23. I’ve already put in the word for the transfer. Congratulations, Bishop.” he continues and everyone goes silent. That, Vic definitely didn’t expect.

Everyone’s mood is down the drain after that. They eat in silence. After they are done, Maya excuses herself to call Andy, Lucas goes downstairs into Sullivan’s office, Jack goes to sleep, Travis and Ben take care of the dishes and the others just stay seated and talk. 

“Guys, I’m going home. I’m glad that I came here to hang out though. I missed you all.” Vic stands up and hugs everyone goodbye and then she walks downstairs and knocks on Sullivan’s door.

“Are you ready to drive me home?” she asks Lucas and he smiles at her and nods.

“I told Travis that you are driving me home.” he nods again.

They spend the drive home in complete silence. All that can be heard is the wind outside and Vic is glad that he is driving her in his truck. She feels much safer in it  than in her mini.

It doesn’t take them long to get to her place. He helps her upstairs and into her apartment. 

“Do you wanna maybe stay?” she asks but before he can answer his phone is ringing and he is picking it up.

His face goes from smiling to serious in a second. Whoever is on the other side of the call doesn’t seem to have good news for Lucas.

“Thank you. I will take care of it. Yes. Okay. Bye!” he says and hangs up.

“Is something wrong?” Vic asks and Lucas nods.

“The aid car that Herrera and Sullivan were in, drove off a cliff. Vic’s hand goes to her mouth as she gasps and her eyes go wide in shock.

“Omg, Andy and Sullivan are they okay? Please tell me they are.”

“I don’t know. I have to go and get the team on it.” he tells her as he gives her a quick kiss on the cheek and then he is out the door leaving a distraught Vic behind.

“Please let them be okay.” she pleads.

\----------

It’s midnight when she hears a knock at the door. She slowly gets up and opens the door to find Lucas standing in front of her in his turnout gear. He looks exhausted and just about ready to fall over. She ushers him inside.

“Just leave it on the floor.” she tells him as she helps him take the gear off and then she is leading him to the couch.

“Did you find Andy and Sullivan?” Lucas nods but doesn’t say a word. She wipes the dirt from his handsome face.

“Are they okay?” he nods.

“Luke, you have to give me more than just a nod. Are they hurt?”

“Sullivan has a broken leg and a couple of broken ribs. He will be out for at least 8 weeks. Herrera has a collapsed lung and a broken arm. She will be out for at least 4 weeks.”

“Wow, but at least they are alive. Thank god!” 

“I will be acting Captain at 19 again until Sullivan comes back. It’s gonna be though with 19 being three men short.”

“Well, I will be back in ten days.” she beams at him and he chuckles.

“You sure you don’t need more time.” she shakes her head.

“If I could I would be back already but that is something I was not able to negotiate with Dr. Bailey.” Lucas laughs out loud.

“Are you hungry?” he shakes his head. “Thirsty?” he nods and she stands up to get him a glass of water.

When she comes back into the living room, he is out like a light. She sets the glass down on the table and before she can talk herself out of it, she lies down beside him. The couch is small but it easily fits them both. She hopes that he won’t be upset with her when he finds her in his arms but as soon as she lies down next to him, she can feel his arms go around her and pull her closer. She snuggles into him and falls asleep. This is how she wants to fall asleep each night and wake up every morning for the rest of her life, in his arms. If only it would finally happen.


	9. Fantasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas wakes up in Vic's apartment after the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, turns out this story will be a few chapters longer than I thought because I thought of some more scenes that I want to add. Don't know how many more there will be but definitely more. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this chapter. 
> 
> Also, it's my birthday today. I accept gifts in form of Vicley fanfics *hint'

Lucas wakes up with something soft and warm on top of him and what feels like hair tickling his neck and face. He slowly opens his eyes and finds Victoria sound asleep on top of him. Her injured arm is wrapped around his middle while her leg is wedged between his. His arms is wrapped tightly around her waist and he could get used to waking up like this. He feels her stir in her sleep and rub her leg against his, her nose nuzzling his neck and this is what heaven must feel like. His hand grips her hip a little tighter as he feels her kiss and bite his neck as she is slowly waking up.

“Luke...” she moans into his ear. “Please, I want you!”

“I want you too. You have no idea how much.” he groans and she smiles against his cheek.

“Show me!” 

He turns his head to look at her and the look in her eyes makes him forget his name. There is so  much love and desire in her gorgeous brown eyes that there is no way he can resist any longer. He cups her cheek and smiles at her, she smiles back at him fondly and he falls even more in love with her in that moment and then he crashes his lips against hers in a bruising kiss. He has been waiting so long to do this and now that he is finally kissing her, he doubts that he will ever be able to stop. He wants to keep kissing her for the rest of his life.

“I need you, Lucas.” she whimpers as she rubs her leg against his cock and it stirs to life, making her chuckle.

“Looks like you need me just as much.” she winks at him and keeps kissing him as she settles on top of him with her legs on each side of his hips, slowly grinding against him. 

“You feel so good, Victoria. Please, don’t stop babe.” she sits up on top of him, continues rolling her hips, his hands wander up to cup her breasts, tweaking her nipples with his fingers and she moans and whines and he needs to have her now.

“I need to be inside of you, Victoria. Please!” he pleads and she smiles at him as she leans forward to whisper in his ear.

“I want to feel you deep inside of me, Luke.” she take his hand and moves it between her legs.

“Can you feel it? Can you feel how wet I am for you even through my pjs? I’m soaked.”

“So wet! Fuck Victoria!” he curses.

“That’s the idea. Fuck me, Chief!” she begs and he loses it when she calls him Chief. He sits up and is about to rip the shirt off her body when he hears a loud crash.

Lucas body jolts upright and he is trying to catch his breath. He looks around and realizes that he is in Victoria’s apartment, on her couch and she is nowhere to be found. He just had a sex dream about her while she is somewhere nearby. It had felt so real but it was definitely just a dream. What isn’t a dream is the raging hard-on that he is sporting. 

He can hear music coming from the kitchen and pots and pans clashing. 

She must be making breakfast, he thinks.

Lucas tries to calm down and think of anything but her soft, warm body grinding on top of him and by now his erection is painfully hard. There is no way he can just will it away and he definitely can’t rub one out in her bathroom. He sits up and makes sure that the blanket is covering him.

“Victoria, do you mind if I take a shower?” he yells towards the kitchen. 

A second later, she pokes out her head from the kitchen, looking slightly flustered. 

“Are you okay? You look flushed.” he asks thinking that he probably doesn’t look any better.

“Oh yeah, must be because I danced around in the kitchen while making breakfast. I dropped a pan. Sorry if it woke you up.” she apologizes.

“It’s fine. So, is it okay to take a shower?”

“Sure, go ahead. There are clean towels in the cabinet. Breakfast and coffee will be done by the time you are done.” she smiles at him and disappears into the kitchen again.

Lucas jumps up and walks to the bathroom. He locks the door behind him, removes his clothes, enters the shower and takes the coldest shower he has ever needed in his life. He is freezing but at least it is helping with his “little” problem.

\----------

Vic wakes up splayed on top of him with her injured arm around his waist and her leg nestled between his. His hand is on her hip, holding her close to him and it feels like the many dreams she has had about him, only this is real. She looks up and watches him while he sleeps. He always looks so peaceful. She wants nothing more than to lean down and kiss him awake and then have him take her over and over again but her shoulder feels sore and hurts a little, so instead she gets off of him and walks straight to her bathroom to take a shower.

Ten minutes later, she emerges from her room. He is still sleeping on her couch and after the day he has had, she just can’t bring herself to wake him, so she lets him sleep.  

She heads to the kitchen, turns on the music but not too loud because she doesn’t want to wake him and starts on coffee and breakfast. She is starving and needs food to take her medication with. She knows that her shoulder hurts from the position she was lying in but she decides that sleeping and waking up in Lucas’ arms was totally worth the pain.

She is pouring coffee in her mug when she hears whimpers come from the kitchen. She worries that he might be in pain or having a nightmare and walks back into the living room.

“I want you too.” she hears him moan and realizes that he is not in pain. He is having a sex dream. She wonders if it’s about her but she doesn’t have to wonder for long.

“You feel so good, Victoria.” he groans and Vic is about to lose it. He is dreaming about her and she can feel herself getting wet as she lets out a moan of her own. She quickly covers her mouth to not give herself away and then disappears into the kitchen again, holding on to the counter. Her knees feel like jello, she is slippery between her legs and all she wants to do is go back in there and make his dream a reality. She wonder what they are doing in his fantasy. Are they just kissing? Is he going down on her or she on him? Or is he pounding into her hard and fast.

“Fuck!” she curses.

She hears him moan and whimper again and is about to turn the volume of the radio higher to drown it out when she hears.

“So wet! Fuck Victoria!”

They next thing she knows, she is dropping one of the pans and it makes a loud noise and she is breathing heavily because this must have woken him up.

A minute later, she hears him shout.

“Victoria, do you mind if I take a shower?” and she thinks that she should be taking a cold shower as well.

She pokes her head out and looks at him. The blanket is obviously covering his erection and it makes her blush, knowing that she caused this. If only he knew just how wet she was because of him. 

“Are you okay? You look flushed.” Vic wants to laugh at the irony because he looks just as flushed as she does.

“Oh yeah, must be because I danced around in the kitchen while making breakfast. I dropped a pan. Sorry if it woke you up.” she explains and apologizes, trying to sound normal and not like she had just caught him fantasising about her.

“It’s fine. So, is it okay to take a shower?” he repeats.

“Sure, go ahead. There are clean towels in the cabinet. Breakfast and coffee will be ready by the time you are done.” she smiles at him and disappears into the kitchen again. 

She takes a couple of deep breaths, drowns two glasses of water and splashes some cold one on her face to hopefully stop blushing.

Ten minutes later, she can hear him enter the kitchen. She turns around to watch him grab a mug and pour himself some coffee, grab some milk from the fridge and sugar from the cupboard and then sit down at the counter. 

“You sure do know your way around my kitchen.” she chuckles.

“Montgomery showed me where I can find things the night you got shot.” he explains and Vic nods.

He smiles at her awkwardly as he looks her up and down.

“Are you wearing my sweater?” he asks suddenly and she looks down and indeed she is wearing his sweater.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I totally forgot that I still had it. I would give it back to you but I’m kinda not wearing anything underneath.” Lucas almost chokes on the sip of coffee he just took while Vic blushes and curses herself for her choice of words.

“Sorry. Sometimes I speak before I think.”

“It’s okay. It’s actually one of my favorite things about you unless it involves you yelling at me.” he chuckles.

“Oh please, you love it when I yell at you.” she teases him and he simply nods.

“About your sweater, I will wash it and give it back to you the next time I see you.”

“Don’t worry. It’s okay. It actually looks much better on you than it does  on me anyway.” he smiles at her.

“Even though I totally disagree with that statement I will take the compliment.” she winks at him before turning back around. She fills two plates with food and sets it in front of him, turns off the heat and then joins him.

“Did you sleep well?” she asks innocently.

“The best sleep I’ve had in weeks.” he tells her as he takes a bite from the bacon.

“I’m glad. You looked really exhausted last night.”

“I was. It was a long day and the next few weeks won’t be any better with three firefighters down and Gibson dealing with PTSD.”

“He told you about that?” Lucas nods.

“He also told me you suggested going to a support group and I would really like if you went with him. He shouldn’t be doing this alone.” he tells her and she loves him even more for it. She loves that her family matters so much to him.

“I will. I have a busy week myself. I need to go to the hospital for a check up and physical therapy for my shoulder. It was a bit sore this morning and hurting.” she tells him.

“Why?” he wonders.

“Oh, I must have turned in my sleep and was lying on my arm without noticing.” she explains and he just nods at her. If he doesn’t believe her he is not showing it.

“Lucas? Are you really transferring Maya to 23?” she asks trying to change the subject.

“She is staying at 19 for the time being but as soon as everything and everyone is back to normal, I will have to transfer her. There can’t be three Lieutenants at the same station.” Vic nods sadly.

“I just hate losing her. She is one of my best friends.” 

“I know but that’s how this goes. You will all eventually end up somewhere else when you get promoted. Doesn’t mean that you stop being a family.” he reassures her and she gives him a small smile when she hears his phone ring.

“This is Chief Ripley!” he says as he picks up and goes into the living room.

Vic looks at his plate and realizes that he has barely eaten anything so she makes a breakfast sandwich for him and puts it in a ziplock. She grabs one of her travel mugs that says “Good days start with coffee and you” and pours coffee in it and sets both things on the kitchen counter as she cleans up.

A few minutes later, he walks into her kitchen fully dressed and gives her a sad smile.

“I’m sorry but I have to leave.”

“Is everything okay?” Vic wonders.

“It will be. Don’t worry about it. Just take care of your shoulder, so you can come back to work soon and I will talk to you later.” he looks at the kitchen counter.

“Is that for me?” she nods and watches him as he takes a step towards her and gives her a kiss on the corner of her mouth. 

He is getting bolder, she thinks.

“Thank you for everything. You are amazing.” he tells her and then grabs the food and coffee and leaves.

Vic can’t help but smile like a lovesick fool. This entire scene had just felt so domestic. They were already acting like a damn couple. 

He calls her as promised and they talk about their day as they usually do. 

When Vic goes to bed that night, she decides that she would finally tell him about her feelings once she returns to work. She doesn’t want to be uncomfortable and still on meds when she does it and they have waited so long, what’s a few more days, she thinks.


	10. No Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A traumatic call makes Vic finally say the things she had been afraid of confessing.

Dr. Bailey clears her for duty and Vic couldn’t be happier that she finally gets to return to work. She finally gets to be with her team and Lucas again. She is so excited.

She had kept herself busy with physiotherapy and going to support group meetings with Jack. He was grateful for it and Vic was just glad that he was getting the help he needed. She talked to Lucas on the phone but didn’t see him. He had his hands full with 19 especially since they were three firefighters down. He had told her that he couldn’t wait for her to come back because the team really needed and missed her. She hoped that it wasn’t just the team missing her but him as well but she would find out soon enough.

The day has finally arrived. She is standing in front of her mirror, admiring herself in her uniform and she has to admit that she really missed it. She looks good in it. Her hair is in braids as usual. She put on some mascara and lip balm and her favorite perfume that she knows Lucas loves as well. She remembers him breathing her in the last time they hugged and she had it on.

She drives to work and goes straight to the Captain’s office expecting Lucas to be there. She wants to talk to him right away now that she is off her meds and healthy but instead gets a little surprise when she finds Chief Frankel there.

She knocks and Frankel tells her to come in.

“Hughes, welcome back. I’m sure your team is glad to have you back. You may go and have breakfast before your shift officially starts.” 

“Sorry for asking but wasn’t Chief Ripley supposed to be here?” Vic is confused. She doesn’t understand why Lucas isn’t there. 

“He was until yesterday but handed 19 over to me this morning for the rest of Captain Sullivan’s leave. Is there a problem with that?” she raises an eyebrow at Vic and Vic feels like she can see right through her.

“No, not at all, ma’am. I was just surprised, that’s all.” she explains and hopes that Frankel believes her. It doesn’t makes sense. She talked to Lucas last night and he didn’t mention anything to her. Why would he just leave the day she was coming back?

“Is there anything else you need, Hughes?” Frankel interrupts her thoughts.

“Have you had breakfast yet?” Frankel shakes her head looking surprised. “I think you should join us.” Vic tells her.

“I don’t think your team would like that.” Vic is stunned at her answer. Frankel always seems so sure and certain but in this moment she doesn’t look it at all.

“They will get over it.” Vic tells her and Frankel chuckles as she gets up from her chair and they leave her office. 

Breakfast is a bit awkward at first but Vic is right, her team gets over it eventually and she feels like Frankel relaxes a bit and actually enjoys herself. She even laughs at Dean’s lame jokes.

The rest of the day is mostly uneventful until the very end of her shift. A call that ends in one dead victim rattles her so much that after her shift she finds herself standing in front of Lucas’ door. She has never been to his home but he had once mentioned where he lives and she still remembered. She needed to see him. She needed to talk to him.

\----------

It’s early in the morning and Lucas is ready to leave his house when he hears a knock at his door and is surprised to find Victoria standing in front of him. She looks shaken and upset. He can tell that she has been crying. Her eyes are puffy and red. 

“What happened? Are you hurt?” he looks her over to see if there are any injuries. She shakes her head.

“Can I come in? It’s important.” he steps aside and motions for her to come in. 

They walk into his living room and she is pacing up and down, looking rather nervous. Lucas is really worried about what this is about. She just had her first day back at work. What could possibly have happened?

“Victoria, you are scaring me. What happened?”

“I think we should sit down for this.” she suggest and goes to sit down on his couch. He joins her a second later.

“It was my first day back at work as you know and the day was fine. We had a few minor calls and spend most of the day cleaning and doing chores until...” she stops talking and is breathing heavily.

“Take your time, Victoria.” he tells her as he places his hand on her knee and rubs soothing circles against it.

“There was this car accident with a couple and the woman was hysterical and screaming and crying but she was mostly okay, only had a few cuts and bruises. The airbag and safety belt saved her life. Her boyfriend on the other hand wasn’t that lucky. He didn’t have his safety belt on and the airbag didn’t open and he went through the windshield.” she stops and takes a deep breath again. She is crying and Lucas has no idea where this is going but he is listening. This call obviously rattled her and he wants to be there for her.

“Travis and I took care of her while Maya, Ben and Dean took care of him. They finally stopped the bleeding but then his heart stopped, so they started CPR. His girlfriend was crying and screaming and it took all my strength to keep her from jumping on top of him. She kept on repeating that she loves him and that he needed to live and my heart broke for her.” she stops again and looks at him. Lucas thinks he knows where this is going.

“We did everything we could but there was too much damage and he didn’t make it and the next thing I know she breaks down in my arms and takes me with her and we are on the ground and she is sobbing in my arms and repeating how much she loves him and I finally let go of her and she crawls over to his lifeless body and holds him and she cries and cries and just rocks him and I don’t think I have ever seen anything more heartbreaking in my life until she...” she takes another deep breath through her tears. 

“Until she told him that she regrets never telling him about her feelings for him because you see he was her colleague and best friend and she had been in love with him for a while and she thinks he was too but no one ever made a move and then he died and she never got to tell him and I don’t want that to be us. I can’t have that be us. I -- I have feelings for you, Lucas and I needed you to finally know that because I don’t want to live with the regret of never telling you especially with our jobs where every single day could be our last and I just -- I just needed you to finally know.”

By the time she finishes the story, Lucas is crying too. He takes her face in his hands and looks at her.

“I have feelings for you too.” he finally confesses and her face lights up and he feels like his heart is about to jump out of his chest. “But...” her face falls again as she tries to pull away but he keeps her face in his hands.

“You didn’t let me finish. But nothing can happen between us physically until we talk to HR.” she looks at him surprised.

“There is no rule against dating, though they probably won’t be too happy about it, but there is a rule about keeping this a secret. We need to disclose our relationship before anything more can happen. It’s to keep us both protected. If you want to keep this between us after we talk to HR, we can do that but as the Chief I have to come clean to HR. I hope you understand that.” she doesn’t say anything for what feels like eternity and Lucas is getting nervous.

“I don’t want to keep this a secret. I suck at keeping secrets.” he chuckles. “Keeping it a secret would feel like we are doing something wrong and we are not. So, I’m okay with telling HR but I want to tell my team first. The deserve to know first.” he nods in agreement.

“You really have feelings for me?” she looks like she can’t quite believe that this is real and he smiles.

“I’m truly, madly, deeply in love with you, Victoria Hughes.” he tells her and she laughs.

“You are such a dork.” she tells him and he wants nothing more than to kiss her but if he kisses her he knows that it won’t just end with a kiss.

“So, I take it I don’t even get to kiss you before HR?” she asks hopeful.

“If I kiss you I won’t be able to stop.” she smiles at that and nods, telling him that she wouldn’t be able either.

“So when are we meeting with HR?” 

“Tomorrow noon.” she looks surprised.

“I made the appointment yesterday before giving 19 over to Frankel. I was gonna come and talk to you after your first shift back. I was actually on my way to you when you knocked.” he explains.

“That explains why Frankel was there today instead of you. I was worried that you fled because I was coming back and you didn’t want to be around me for whatever reason.”

“I always want to be around you but considering what we are about to tell HR, I figured it would be best to not be acting captain when you come back.” she nods.

“So how are we gonna tell my team?” she wonders.

“It’s their day off tomorrow, so I figured we could meet them somewhere for breakfast and tell them and then go and deal with HR.” she nods.

“Andy and Sullivan are out of the hospital, do you think we should have them there too. I mean if they are up for it, that is?” Victoria wonders.

“We can invite them and hopefully they can be there. Would be easier just to have your entire team there and tell them all at once.”

“Okay. I will text my team and tell them I’m inviting them for a welcome back breakfast or something like that and you have to text Sullivan.” he nods at her.

“We are finally doing this.” he says with excitement and smiles at her and hugs her to him. She hugs him back and lies back on his couch taking him with her.

“Can I stay in your arms for just a little while?” she wonders as she makes herself comfortable on his couch and in his arms.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea. The last time you were in my arms, I ended up with...” he stops, looking slightly embarrassed.

“A major hard-on?” she finishes and he blushes.

“You knew?” she nods.

“I saw it and heard you and you have no idea how much self-control it took to not jump your bones in that moment. I wanted nothing more than have my way with you.” she looks as flushed as on that morning. 

“That’s why you were blushing because knew I was dreaming about you and not because you were dancing.” she laughs and nods.

“That’s also why I dropped the pan. Listening to you moan my name made me so hot and… wet.” she whispers the last word into his ear and he is pretty sure that he stops breathing.

“Fuck! You are not playing fair.” she grins innocently.

“You are not the only one affected by this. If only you could feel...” he shuts her up with his hand over her mouth.

“Stop talking or I will have to throw you out.” she lets out a laugh.

“Sorry, Lucas. I promise to behave. I just want to lie in your arms for a bit and then I will go home. I promise.”

“Okay but no more talking about… you know what.”

“Okay.”

His couch is bigger than hers so they have a bit more room. She settles in his arms. One of his hands is on her hip holding her close to him while the other one is entwined with her hand that is lying on his chest. He head is on his shoulder with her nose nuzzling his neck and one of her legs is between his. It’s just like in his dream only better because this is real. She is really here and she just confessed her feelings to him and he confessed them to her and he is the happiest guy on the planet.

“Victoria?” she lifts her head to look at him.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.” he tells her and her smile takes his breath away. She is the most beautiful woman on the planet.

“I love you too.” she says back and gives him a kiss on the corner of his mouth before nuzzling into his neck again.

“Are you comfortable?” she nods against him.

“I have never felt more safe and comfortable in my life. I could stay like this forever.” she tells him and he just smiles and agrees with her.

They fall asleep like that until his phone rings two hours later, waking them.

“Work?” she asks as he finishes the call.

“Yeah. I’m sorry, I have to leave.” he tells her before walking into his bedroom to put on his uniform. He comes back a moment later fully dressed.

“You should go home and get some rest. Tomorrow will be interesting.” she chuckles.

“Lucas? How big are the chances that HR will forbid us to be together?” she looks a bit scared.

“They won’t. We will just have to sign something and follow some rules.” he puts his arm around her shoulders for comfort.

“What kinda rules?” she wants to know.

“I won’t be allowed to evaluate and promote you of course. That will be Frankel’s job and we are also not allowed to work a scene together and a few other minor things. Like I said we are not breaking any rules by being together just have to disclose it and follow the rules.“ she nods.

“Okay. Thanks.” he kisses her forehead.

“I love you, Victoria.” he tells her again.

“I never get tired of you saying that.” she beams at him.

“I love you, Victoria.” he repeats and she smiles even more.

“I love you too. So much!” she tells him as they leave his home.

“Oh, can you drop me off at my place? I walked here this morning.” he nods as they enter his car. Ten minutes later, he is stopping in front of her building and turns to her.

“I will call you when I’m done.” he kisses her cheek.

“Okay. Please, stay safe.” her voice is laced with worry and it makes his heart melt.

“I promise. Now that I finally got you I won’t do anything to lose you.” he gives her one last smile before she exits his car and he drives off to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!!!! There is a maybe two or three more chapters to this story but they finally told each other how they feel. I hope you all like it.


	11. The most important people

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic and Lucas tell her team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone who reads, leaves kudos and comments. I'm so grateful. 
> 
> I wanted to have the HR meeting in this chapter as well but then this one ended up being so long that I decided to leave the HR meeting for the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy this.

It’s late and Vic still hasn’t heard from Lucas. She is getting a little worried. He should be done by now and he promised he would call. She had tried calling him but he didn’t pick up. So now she is pacing up and down in her living room, phone in her hand and calling but it all goes straight to voicemail and she is about to freak out when she hears a knock at her door. 

She runs to the door and finds Lucas standing there, he looks tired but is smiling at her. He has a small bag in his hand and Vic looks at it curiously.

“First of all: When I call you, you pick up. I was driving myself crazy that something had happened to you. And secondly, is that an overnight bag?”

He walks into her apartment and drops the bag onto the ground, kicks the door shut and then just hugs her and holds her.

“Sorry. I wanted to call but forgot to charge my phone. I didn’t mean for you to worry about me. I promise I will try to never let it happen again.” he tells her.

“As long as you are safe and okay. That’s all that matters.” she mumbles into his chest before pulling away.

“So what’s with the bag?” she asks again.

“Oh, I just brought some clothes. I figured I sleep on your couch since we are meeting with your team tomorrow morning”

“Yeah, if you are sleeping on the couch then I’m sleeping there with you.” she winks.

“Victoria.” he says in a warning tone.

“What? There is no way I won’t spend the night in your arms. So either I sleep on the couch with you or we can share my big, comfortable bed. But either way I get to sleep in your arms. There is no way around it.” she tells him.

“You know that we shouldn’t.” 

“I promise I will behave. Scout’s honor.” she raises three fingers and he laughs.

“You win.” he tells her and she jumps back into his arms, surprising him and they both end up on the floor laughing.

“You should get used to me winning.” she tells him as he continues to laugh.  “Are you hungry?” she wonders and he nods.

“Okay. You go take a shower and I will make us some dinner.” she orders as they get off the floor.

  
She watches him grab his bag and walk into her bedroom while she walks into the kitchen to whip up something for them to eat. She decides to make mac and cheese. It’s easy and she has a special recipe for it from her grandmother.

\----------

He emerges from the bedroom about half an hour later, wearing sweatpants and a shirt. He finds her sitting on her couch with two bowls of what looks like mac and cheese in front of her and he bends down to give her a kiss on the cheek before sitting next to her. 

They eat in silence and he cleans the dishes since she cooked for them. When he walks back into the living room he finds her browsing through netflix and plops down next to her. She immediately leans against him and he wraps his arms around her. She turns slightly so she can look at him.

“How was your day?”

“It was fine. Just wish I had worked with your team instead of 23.” Vic lets out a laugh and he knows why.

“See I told you they suck.” he can’t help but nod because they really do.

“Why do you think I want Bishop there? She could help whip them in shape.” Vic chuckles and nods.

“I’m just glad that I’m home.” he watches her as her eyes go wide. “Did I say something wrong?”

“You just called this your home.” she smiles.

“Well, I’m home wherever you are. I hope that’s okay.” she nods at him and smiles even more.

“I would kiss you right now if you weren’t such a boy scout.” he chuckles.

“I think we should go to bed. I’m tired and we have a long day tomorrow.” she agrees as she gets up and takes his hand in hers and leads him into her bedroom. 

He watches her as she puts on her pjs before slipping underneath the covers.

  
“Maybe I should sleep on top of the covers.” he suggests as she rolls her eyes and lifts the covers for him to join her. 

“I don’t think that will be necessary. I really just want you to hold me.” she says as she waits for him to join her. 

He smiles as he slips in beside her. She turns her back to him as he grabs her by the waist and pulls her to him. She snuggles back into him and she feels like home to Lucas. He can’t remember the last time he felt this way about anyone. He thinks that maybe he has never felt this way about anyone before. As much as he had loved his ex-wives at one point, they certainly were no Victoria Hughes. She was special.

“What are you thinking about?” she asks quietly.

“Just how much I love you. I never felt this way about my ex-wives. I could never really talk to them especially not Eva but with you it’s different.”

“A good kind of different?” she wonders.

“The best kind.” he smiles against her shoulder before kissing it.

“Are you nervous about to tomorrow?” 

  
“Well, your team is very protective of you, so I have no idea how they will feel about this. I know that Montgomery will be excited.” Vic chuckles. “Gibson seems to be okay with it too.”

“OMG, Jack talked to you about us?”

“We didn’t really talk. It was more like him telling me to treat you right because you are amazing and deserve it.”

“That is sweet. And yeah, should you hurt me then you can be sure that my team will hurt you back. They won’t care about you being the big boss.”

“Should I ever hurt you then I will kick my own ass. I promise to never hurt you intentionally. It’s the last thing I want to do.”

“I know.”

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

“A little bit. I’m less nervous about my team and more nervous about what HR will ask and say.”

“Just be honest. They will want to know if all this is consensual and whether or not I coerced you into anything.” she laughs.

“It’s more like I coerced you.”

“Trust me, I wouldn’t be lying here with you if I didn’t want to. I love having you in my arms.”

“And I love being in your arms. I feel safe and secure.” he hears her yawn.

“Somebody is tired. We should try and get some sleep.” he says as he pulls her closer to him.

“Goodnight, Lucas.”

“Goodnight, my love.” he kisses her shoulder again and they both drift off to sleep.

\----------

She wakes up in his warm embrace and it’s the most beautiful feeling in the world. She must have turned in her sleep because she is facing him now and as she looks up she realizes that he is already awake and watching her.

“You’re lucky that I love you or I would find you watching me sleep really creepy.” he snickers.

“You look so beautiful in the morning.” he kisses her forehead, making her blush.

“We should get up.” she says and tries to move out of his arms.

“Just a few more minutes. Once we file with HR, I won’t be able to see you until they give us the official okay.”

“Really?” Vic had no idea. She had never dated a colleague before or her boss for that matter.

“Yeah. It’s just for a few days but it’s still a few days without you. I’m not even allowed to call you.” 

“Okay then we definitely can stay a few more minutes.” she snuggles back into his chest and they stay like that for another half hour before they finally get up and get dressed and leave her apartment.

When they arrive at the diner, her entire team is already there including Sullivan and Andy. They are all the way in the back, sitting together waiting for them. Vic and Lucas approach them and everyone looks at them in surprise except for Travis and Jack. Travis looks like he is already planning their wedding in his mind and Jack just smiles at them, knowing exactly why they are all there.

“Chief Ripley?” Maya speaks first. Her eyebrows are furrowed and she looks confused.

“Hello 19. Sully.” Lucas greets them as he and Vic take a seat, then he looks at her and she nods for him to continues.

“So, the reason you all are here is because Victoria and I have an announcement to make. Victoria and I formed a friendship while I was your Captain a couple of months ago. That friendship eventually turned into more. We fell in love and finally confessed those feelings to each other.” he says with a smile as he takes her hand in his and kisses it.

Vic smiles back at him before turning to her team who are taking it all in.

Travis is definitely planning their wedding. Jack still looks happy for her. Dean appears to be somewhat confused. Ben looks like he understands. Maya and Andy look upset and Sullivan looks pissed.

“Okay. Go ahead. Ask your questions!” Vic tells them.

“Of all the people you could be sleeping with you had to go and sleep with one of my firefighters. Now I have to report the two of you and you might lose your job. What the hell were you two thinking?” Sullivan yells and Vic is glad that the diner is almost empty.

Lucas is about to speak but Vic beats him to it.

“We are not sleeping together. This boy scout over here...” she points at Lucas who rolls his eyes while Travis, Dean and Jack chuckle. “...wouldn’t even kiss me without going to HR first. That’s what we are going to do after we are done here. So, you won’t have to report us. As for what we were thinking? Well, we denied our feelings long enough...”

“I can attest to that.” Travis throws in.

“Thanks Travis. As I was saying. We denied them long enough until we couldn’t anymore. You can’t help who you fall in love with and well, we did fall in love and yeah he happens to be my boss but there is nothing I can do about that now.” she shrugs. Sullivan just looks at her in shock. He probably didn’t expect her outburst.

“So, he didn’t force himself on you or anything?” Maya asks.

“What? No, of course not. He would never do that. I was not kidding when I said that he wouldn’t even kiss me.” 

“So waving buddies?.” Andy wonders. Lucas looks at her confused.

“I was already falling for him then but we were still just friends.” Andy nods.

“Honestly, I was ready to start an intervention with you two. It was about damn time.” Travis gives them a thumbs up.

“Also, how in the world did no one notice this? I noticed it the very first moment I saw them together. You guys had several weeks with them before that. I mean the sexual tension was just right there, slapping you in the face.” Travis shakes his head at his teammates.

“So, this has been going on since you were our Captain?” Maya directs her question at Lucas.

“Actually, since the moment she yelled at me.” Lucas says and Vic looks at him, eyes wide and mouth agape.

“Which time?” she inquires.

“Wait, you yelled at him more than once and he didn’t fire you?” Sullivan speaks again.

“The first time.” Lucas looks at Vic and she shakes her head in disbelief before turning to Sullivan.

“He actually did threaten to fire me after the second time I yelled at him at the skyscraper. I accused him of not caring about his people.”

“Well, you were obviously wrong about that.” Ben throws in and Vic nods.

“Look guys, I know this is a lot to take in and judging by the looks on some of your faces, I can tell that you don’t like this at all. Also, I owe two of you an apology. You know who you are and what I’m talking about.” she quickly looks between Jack and Andy and they both give her a slight nod, accepting her apology. This is not at all what I expected to happen. Just know that this is completely consensual. He hasn’t forced or coerced me into anything. He makes me happy and I love him. We will deal with HR and the consequences together.” she finishes and looks at Lucas who gives her a reassuring smile.

“I know you worry about Victoria and what this will do to her career and believe me, the last thing I want is to make things harder for her. I will make sure that she is treated fairly and has the same chances as everyone else after our relationship becomes public. She is an amazing firefighter and has a great future with SFD and I don’t want to stand in the way of that. This is also not some midlife crisis. I’m in love with her and plan to make her happy for as long as she will let me.” he looks at Sullivan as he stops talking.

“Just try to keep the PDA out of my station.” he tells them and Lucas nods. Vic knows that he can keep that promise for sure.

“Okay, so now that we got this out of the way, can we have breakfast already? I mean that’s why we are here, right?” Dean interrupts as everyone stares at him. “What? I’m starving!”

“Yeah, order whatever you want. It’s on me.” Lucas tells them and they nod as they look through the menu.

“How can you be okay with this?” Vic hears Maya ask Travis. “He is our boss and he is much older than she is.This will probably end in tears and heartbreak and we will have to pick up the pieces both personally and professionally.”

“Watch them for just a minute and you will see why. He is totally crazy about her and she about him. I think they belong together and this is not ending anytime soon, if ever. Also, I almost died a few months ago. Life is too short. If you find love, hold on to it. That’s what they are doing and that’s why I am happy for them and okay with it, no matter his age or rank. She is happy and as her best friend that’s all I care about.” Travis tells her as he makes eye contact with Vic who smiles at him and mouths a “thank you”. 

Her team orders breakfast as does she and Lucas and she can feel several eyes on them while they eat. They don’t act overly coupley if she is honest but it looks like Maya saw something that made her more accepting of her relationship with Luke and it lets Vic breathe easy. The people sitting at the table are the most important people in her life and she wants them all to get along and she hopes they can just all be happy for her.

Lucas pays for everything as Vic talks to Travis while the others just stand around them.

“You have no idea how much your support means to me, to both of us.” she tells him as she pulls him into a hug. Travis hugs her back and they just stand there for a few seconds until Lucas joins them, looking at them curiously.

“You are probably happy that I’m gay or you wouldn’t like us hugging like this at all, am I right?” he teases Lucas who laughs and shakes his head.

“I’m just glad that she has a friend like you, Montgomery and me too.” Lucas extends his hand and Travis lets go of Vic to shake it.

“You can call me Lucas outside of work.” he tells him and then turns to the others.

“That goes for all of you unless you don’t feel comfortable with it. You can also call me Ripley if you prefer.” they nod at him.

She watches as Lucas walks over to Sullivan. She can’t help but eavesdrop.

“Will you be okay with this?” he asks him.

“It’s not like I have a choice.” Sullivan huffs.

“You know me falling in love again is a big deal. After two failed marriages I decided to never get seriously involved with anyone. That was until I met Victoria.”

“So this is serious then?” Sullivan wonders and Lucas nods his head.

“You better not hurt her then. She means a lot to this team and if you hurt her, I will have to deal with them and I’m really not up for that.” Lucas chuckles and reassures Sullivan that he has no intentions of ever hurting Vic.

Vic stops listening in on their conversation and walks over to Andy and Maya.

“So, you really love him?” Maya asks.

“I do. Very much.”

“Of all the guys in Seattle, it had to be the Chief?” Andy wonders.

“He is everything I was looking for in a guy. He is sweet and funny, considerate and caring, he makes me feel happy and safe.” she explains.

“You better tell us what the sex is like once you get to it.” Maya whispers and Vic shakes her head.

“What? He is hot. I mean, I ain’t blind.” Maya says louder than intended and Lucas and the rest stare at her.

“Sorry Chief, just stating facts.” Lucas laughs at her.

“We need a girls night soon where we can talk.” Vic suggest and her girls agree. They hug and say goodbye to each other. The rest of her team leaves as well leaving her and Lucas alone.

“So, that went better than I thought.” he says as he takes her in his arms and drops a kiss to her forehead.

“Yeah.” she sighs.

“Are you ready?” he asks.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Lucas smiles and then starts to laugh. “What’s so funny.” she wonders.

“I just realized that we actually are an HR meeting about to happen.” Vic lets out a loud laugh, remembering that first night that started it all and those very same words.

“I guess we are.” she says as she takes his hand in hers and they exit the diner and walk hand in hand to headquarters to face HR.

Vic feels nervous but then Lucas wraps his arm around her waist, pulls her close to him and whispers “I love you” into her ear and she feels calm and relaxed again and smiles contently. 


	12. HR Meeting Waiting To Happen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic and Lucas talk to HR.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone so much for all the comments last night. Makes me really happy that you enjoyed it. Also, if nothing else come to mind this should be the second to last chapter.

Vic and Lucas are sitting on a bench outside the HR office when the door opens and she is called in. She turns to Lucas and smiles.

“I guess I will see you in a few days.” he nods and smiles back at her.

“I love you, Victoria.” 

“I love you too.” she replies and squeezes his hand before standing up and walking into the office.

It’s funny how they couldn’t admit their feelings for each other for so long and now the “I love you” just spill from their lips so easily.

Vic takes a seat and looks at the two women in front of her, one being Chief Frankel and the other one she doesn’t know.

“My name is Beverly Bloom. I’m with HR and will be conducting today’s interview. This interview will be recorded. To start this off, please state your name, rank and how long you have been with the Seattle Fire Department.”

“My name is Victoria Hughes. I have no rank at the moment and have been with the Seattle Fire Department for almost two years.” Ms. Bloom scribbles down the information and nods.

“You are here to report a relationship between yourself and another member from the Seattle Fire Department, is that correct?” Vic nods.

“I need you to confirm verbally, please.”

“Sorry of course. Yes, that’s why I am here.”

“Please state the name and rank of the fellow firefighter you have engaged in a sexual relationship with and for how long.”

“His name is Lucas Ripley and he is the Fire Chief of the Seattle Fire Department. We have not been in a sexual relationship.” Ms. Bloom looks up from her notes, eyebrow raised.

“You do realize that lying will only make this whole thing more complicated?” she tells Vic.

Vic sighs. “I’m not lying. Lu- Chief Ripley and I developed a friendship at first. It was during the time he was acting Captain after the skyscraper. I woke up from a nightmare and went into the kitchen and he was there too. He comforted me by making me hot chocolate and letting me talk about my dream and he simply listened to me and we just kept on talking every shift and became friends. At some point that friendship turned into more. I knew that I had feelings for him but didn’t act on them until a bad call the other night made me realize that life is too short to live with regrets and I finally admitted my feelings to him and he admitted that he felt the same. Our physical contact over the last couple of months consists of a few hugs and kisses on the cheek and forehead. The Chief wouldn’t even kiss me until the paperwork with HR was done because he wanted to do this properly, so no one could hold anything against us.”

“Has Chief Ripley forced or coerced you into doing anything you didn’t want to do?”

“Were you not listening when I just said that he wouldn’t even kiss me until we have dealt with all the paperwork?” Vic voice rises a little bit. She can’t quite read Frankel. She thinks that there might be a little smirk there but she is not sure but she can tell that Bloom is surprised and shocked at her outburst.

“Look, the Chief has been nothing but respectful this entire time. Everything that is happening is happening because I want it too. I was not forced or coerced. I’m here of my own free will and with sound mind.” she looks at Frankel again and yeah there is definitely a smirk there.

“Ok. Well then. What do you expect from this relationship?”

“What I expect is to be treated fairly and objectively by whoever is in charge of me from now on.” she looks at Frankel because she knows that she will be in charge of her, Lucas has told her as much and Frankel looks somewhat impressed, she thinks. 

“I’m a damn good firefighter and want the same treatment as everyone else. I’m not trying to “bag” the Chief to get ahead. I simply fell in love with a person who happens to be my boss. If anything, I believe my relationship with Chief Ripley may give me more of a disadvantage because people will assume that I got things handed to me. I’m not looking for that and thankfully I am not a person that cares much for the opinion of other people especially people that are not close to me. All I want and ask for is being judged based on my skills as a firefighter and not based on my love life. I have always worked hard and nothing has ever been handed to me and I’m not looking for handout now either.”

“Alright.” Bloom scribbles some more. “Who else is aware of your relationship with the Chief?”

“We told my team this morning. I hate keeping secrets from them. I wanted them to know because they are my family.”

“Okay. Well, I think that is all. It may take a few days until everything is official. You are not to contact Chief Ripley in the meantime. Is that understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Battalion Chief Frankel will be in charge of your evaluations and promotions from now on. You go to her in regards to anything that concerns the job. Is that understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Okay, well, we are done here. You may leave and let Chief Ripley know that he can come in.”

Vic stands up and thanks them and leaves the room, sighing in relief. That went better than she thought. She looks at Lucas and smiles as she thinks all of this is totally worth it.

\----------

Lucas is sitting outside, waiting and he has to admit that he is a bit nervous. Vic can be impulsive and direct. It’s two things he loves about her but others might not but before he can drive himself crazy, the door opens and Vic comes out sighing and smiling at him and he knows they will be okay. He stands up and walks towards her.

“You okay?” she just nods.

“Good luck in there. I warmed them up for you.” she tells him and he chuckles.

“I’ll see you in a few days.” he quickly kisses her forehead and then walks into the office she just came out of.

“Lucas, it’s been a while.” Beverly stands up and shakes his hand.

“Beverly, nice to see you again. So shall we start and get this over with?” 

“Straight to the point. A man after my own heart.” she nods at him as she sits down again and motions for him to take a seat as well.

She turns on her recording device.

“Please state your name, rank and how long you have been with the Seattle Fire Department.”

“My name is Lucas Ripley. I’m the Fire Chief and have been with the Seattle Fire Department for over fifteen years.”

“Please state the name and rank of the fellow firefighter you have engaged in a sexual relationship with and for how long.”

“Her name is Victoria Hughes. She has no rank,  _ for now _ . We have not engaged in any sexual activities. Our relationship has been purely platonic for weeks before I started developing feelings for her but I didn’t act on them. Yesterday morning, after her shift and a bad call she finally confessed her own feelings and I confessed mine and we decided to disclose our relationship. We told her team this morning and now we are here.” he sighs as he continues.

“I know what this looks like to you and will look to other people. “Pretty young thing” turned the Chief’s head who is dealing with a midlife crisis.”

“Well, is it?” Beverly asks.

“No. That “pretty young thing” is a very capable firefighter. She is strong, determined and loyal. She loves this job and her family at Station 19. She has great potential to lead someday. She is honest and stands up for herself and what she believes is right. She is funny and sarcastic. She has a good heart and cares for people. She can be impulsive and direct.” Beverly chuckles at that and Lucas knows that she met that side of Vic during her interview.

“And yes she is also very beautiful and happens to be younger than me but those are not the most important things about her.” Lucas looks at Frankel for a moment letting her know that what he is about to say is mostly for her before turning his gaze back to Beverly.

“She deserves to be treated fairly and deserves to have the same chances as everyone else. Her relationship with me should not stand in the way of her success as a firefighter. She is very talented and I see her climb up the ladder in no time. I know her and she would never ask me to make anything happen for her nor would I ever make anything happen for her. I respect this department and in my four years of being the Chief, I have never played favorites and given anyone promotions that they didn’t deserve one hundred percent and I’m not about to start doing it. When Victoria advances, it will be because she did it herself and because she worked hard for it and because she earned it and not because her boyfriend pulled some strings.” he finishes his little rant.

“Well. Thank you, Chief Ripley. That was quite insightful.” she smiles at him and Lucas relaxes. He has always liked Beverly. She was a fair, objective person which made her perfect for the job.

“I think I have everything I need. It may take a few days to process all of this. As you know, no contact to Ms. Hughes until you get the official letter.” Lucas nods and stands up, shakes their hands and thanks them before leaving. He too sighs a breath of relief as he goes to his office to start his work day. 

The next couple of days will be lonely but once they have the official okay, nothing will stand in their way and he can’t wait to start his life with Victoria.

\----------

It has been three days since her interview with Ms. Bloom and Vic hates the wait. She misses Lucas and she is restless. She is at work and can’t sleep, so she gets up to make herself some hot chocolate which makes her miss Lucas even more.

“Couldn’t sleep either?” a voice startles her. She turns around to find Frankel standing there, still wearing her uniform. 

Vic looks her up and down. “Did you even try going to sleep?” she asks and Frankel snickers.

“No. I have paperwork to finish but even if I tried I know I couldn’t fall asleep. I’m just not tired.” Vic nods at her.

“Do you want some hot chocolate?” she asks.

“Isn’t that what started this whole thing with you and Rip?” Vic chuckles.

“I promise I’m not hitting on you, Chief Frankel. I’m very much in love with Lucas.” Frankel raises an eyebrow at her and walks closer as she takes one of the mugs that Vic is offering.

She walks over to the table and sits down. Vic joins her on the opposite side.

Frankel takes a sip of hot chocolate and her eyes light up. Vic feels somewhat proud. She has never seen her like that.

“Did you put chili powder in this?” she surprises Vic.

“Yes, I did. It’s my dad’s special ingredient. When I made it for Lucas he could tell something was special about it but he couldn’t figure out what.” Vic laughs and so does Frankel.

“It tastes exactly like my wife makes it.” and here she is surprising Vic again.

“I take it that you didn’t know that I was gay or married?” Vic shakes her head.

“It’s not that I’m not out and proud. I am but my personal life is exactly that, my personal life and I don’t tell people that don’t need to know but I would also never lie about it if someone asked. My wife is amazing.” Vic starts seeing Frankel in a whole new light. Her eyes are full of love as she talks about her wife and Vic can’t help but smile.

“I get it, believe me. Thanks for sharing it with me.” the older woman nods at her.

“Also, thanks for not treating my like some hussy who is trying to sleep her way up.”

“To be honest with you Hughes, I was ready to do just that.” she confesses.

Vic looks stunned. “What made you choose not to?”

“Your entire interview a few days ago and the amazing work I have seen in the last couple of days. I can tell that you really care for Rip and that you love him which is good because I remember how devastated he was after his second divorce. His second ex really did a number on him and he buried himself in work. It’s nice to see him laugh and be happy. And I also think that you are a talented firefighter who can move up in ranks easily if she puts the work into it. I will be there to support you but just so you know I’m firm and strict but I promise to be fair.”

“That’s all I’m asking for.” she smiles at her superior.

“I can’t begrudge two people falling for each other. I mean, I rescued my wife before we got together and you know how falling for the rescuees is something that some people frown upon just like people frown upon workplace relationships.” Vic nods.

“Well, Lucas actually saved me too.” Frankel raises an eyebrow and looks at her curiously.

“It was a long time ago. There was a fire at a retirement home and he found me and saved my life.” Frankel looks at her amazed.

“Wait, you are the “Today is my lucky day!” girl?” Vic nods, surprised that she knows about it.

“Rip always wondered what happened to her. Funny how the universe works.” 

“Yeah.” Vic agrees and yawns.

“Well, looks like somebody is finally tired. Go to bed, Hughes.” she tells her. “Also, I have to say I see why Rip fell for you.” Vic raises an eyebrow at her. 

“I promise I’m not hitting on you, Hughes. I’m very much in love with my wife.” Frankel throws Vic’s own words back at her and Vic laughs.

“Good to know, Chief.”

“Also, you have the kind of personality that makes people want to open up to you. I don’t know what it is.”

“That’s just who I am, I guess.” Vic shrugs.

“Don’t lose it. It’s a good quality to have and makes for a great Chief someday.” Vic can’t describe what she feels in that moment. She knows how hard Frankel had it in this job and hearing her say those words means a great deal.

“Thank you so much for saying that. It really means a lot to me.” she feels her eyes water.

“You’re welcome, Hughes. Oh and before I forget and this is me finally being even with Rip. He told me to tell you that he misses you.” and with that she turns around towards the stairs and leaves the kitchen.

  
Vic just stares after her and smiles at the little message she just delivered. She couldn’t wait for the official okay and to start her life with Lucas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The scene with Frankel wasn't planned before. It just came to me a few days ago and I just had to write it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	13. Waiting Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic and Lucas wait and wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay not the last chapter after all. Maybe two more chapters to conclude this story. Sorry guys.

It’s been a week since the interviews with HR and there was still no word from them. Lucas had told her it would only take a few days so she was starting to get worried now. She is sitting in her apartment and missing him, wants nothing more than to call him just to hear his voice when there is a knock at the door. 

She leaps towards the door in hopes that it’s him with the official okay but when she opens the door she finds Andy and Maya there and her face falls.

“Gee thanks, Hughes. Nice to see you too.” Vic moves away from the door to let them in and then goes back to the couch, sulking.

“Sorry guys. I’m just a bit worried. I still haven’t heard from HR. It usually doesn’t take them that long.” 

Andy and Maya sit down on either side of her and put their arms around her, giving her comfort.

“What if HR doesn’t approve of us? I don’t think I will be able to handle that.” she tells them as she starts crying.

“You really do love him, don’t you?” Maya asks and Vic nods against her shoulder before sitting up.

“I do. I haven’t felt this way about anyone ever. He is kinda the guy of my dreams.” Vic beams at her friends.

“How does this thing with the two of you work?” Andy wonders.

“I don’t know. It just does.” Vic shrugs.

“Do you guys even have anything in common? I mean he is older and he seems so serious and by the book and you are kinda the opposite.” Andy voices and Vic would be offended if she didn’t know that Andy only had her best interests at heart.

“I know that he is older but that doesn’t bother me at all. It’s actually refreshing because he is more mature than my last two boyfriends who were my age. And yes, he is serious and he does live by his rules which is kinda adorable, just don’t tell him I said that, but there is also this different side of him. The goofy, fun side that he doesn’t show to everyone. He can be really funny, sometimes unintentionally, and silly and he is so sweet and he treats me like an equal. When I’m with him I never feel like I am with the boss. It just feels like I am with Lucas. He just makes me really happy and secure. I have never felt this way before.” she beams and Andy smiles.

“Happy with my answer, Herrera?” Vic teases and her Lieutenant nods at her.

“We just needed to make sure. You know we all care about you and want what’s best for you. You are like our little sister and we love you.” Maya tells her and Vic smiles at her friends as she hugs them.

“He is what’s best for me and thank you guys for looking out for me. It means a lot and I love you guys too.” she turns to look at Andy. “On a different note, how are you feeling Andy?”  

“I’m ready to go back to work but Dr. Bailey won’t give me the okay just yet. She said one more week and I’m going out of my mind. How do people just stay at home? I’m going crazy.” Vic laughs because that was her a few weeks ago.

“She is driving me crazy. She has been cleaning and rearranging my apartment...” Maya complains.

“Our apartment.” Andy interjects.

“Our apartment. And I’m ready for her to go back to work or I will murder her. She is so annoying when she is sick.”

“Hey, I’m sitting right here.” Andy exclaims mock-hurt.

“What about 23? When are you leaving?” Vic changes the subject.

“I mean, nothing is official yet and we are still understaffed. When Andy comes back in a week, Jack will be leaving for a few weeks to deal with his PTSD and Sullivan is still out for at least another month. So, it looks like I’m staying a little bit longer. You are not getting rid of me that easily, Hughes and neither are we getting rid of Frankel anytime soon.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. I can’t believe I will have to deal with her when I come back. That woman hates me. Couldn’t you and Ripley have waited just a little bit longer to disclose your relationship? I mean would it have killed you to wait? I rather have him captain us than her.” Andy moans.

“Frankel is not so bad.” Vic says ignoring the part about her and Lucas and Andy gives her an offended look. “What? You just need to get to know her a bit. She is actually quite cool.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen you two be buddy-buddy the other day. What was that about?” Maya wants to know.

“We just talked and she is not the person everyone thinks her to be. That’s all.”

“Victoria Hughes, charming one Chief after the other.” Maya teases and laughs.

“No but really. She could be treating me like some tramp who is sleeping her way up to the top but she is not. She has been fair and I appreciate that. You should give her a chance, Herrera because I think the two of you are actually quite a lot alike. Maybe that’s why you don’t get along?” Andy shrugs obviously not liking that Vic supports Frankel.

“I don’t want to talk about Frankel anymore. Can we go for lunch before our shift starts? I’m starving.”

“Okay, let me just get dressed.” Vic runs into her bedroom to put on some clothes and emerges a few minutes later, ready to go.

\----------

It’s been a week since the interviews with HR and there was still no word about it. Lucas is getting worried because it usually never takes this long to get the official letter. He wonders if he should start looking for a new job. It can’t be a good sign that it’s taking them this long to make a decision.

His thoughts are interrupted by a knock at his office door. When he looks up, he finds his assistant looking at him. 

“I’m sorry, Chief Ripley. You weren’t answering your phone and I have someone here who wants to see you.” Lucas nods at her and tells her to let them in.

“Sully?” Lucas is surprised when he sees his old friend hobble into his office.

“Hello Rip, sorry for just barging in here unannounced.” he apologizes.

“It’s fine. Sit down! How is the recovery?” 

“The cast isn’t coming off for another 3 weeks and I’m tired of being cooped up at home.” Lucas chuckles.

“Victoria was the same after she got shot. She even drove to the station during the storm with an injured arm and everything. I was so mad at her for it.” he explains and Sullivan just looks at him curiously.

“You really do care for her, don’t you?” he asks.

“I’m in love with her.” he simply says and Sully nods.

“How does this even work with the two of you? I mean she is so much younger and she seems like a free spirit who is fun and sarcastic and doesn’t know when to shut up.”  
  
“Gee thanks, Sully. You make me sound like some boring, grumpy old man compared to her.”

“If the shoe fits.” Sullivan laughs and Lucas should be offended but he hasn’t heard his friend laugh like that in years and it’s a sound he really likes. Sullivan used to be a guy that enjoyed life and was fun to be around. He hopes he can go back to that someday.

“You are right, she is all that but she also understands me and this job and how important it is to me. I mean, you remember Eva and how she just hated that I was never there for her and she just didn’t get the job. Victoria does and she just gets me. I can talk to her about the serious and important stuff and she listens and is there for me with advice. And for your information, she brings out the fun side in me. And yes, she sometimes doesn’t know when to shut up but that is one of the reasons I fell in love with her. I mean, you don’t have a gorgeous woman yell at you every day when you are the boss.” Lucas reveals.

“I guess you finally found what Claire and I had.” Lucas nods at him, hating the sadness that he hears in Sullivan’s voice at the mention of his dead wife. 

“I’m guessing you are not here to talk about my relationship with Victoria. So what can I do for you?” 

“I -- when I was stuck in that aid car, not knowing whether you guys would find us, I remembered the old times and our friendship and then you showed up and rescued us and I guess -- what I’m trying to say is that I miss my friend. You were always there for me and I know you didn’t take the decision you made back then lightly and I’m sorry for cutting you out of my life.” Lucas smiles at him.

“I’m the one who has to apologize. I had a hand in you losing your person. I know how much you loved her and I’m sorry that I couldn’t save her.” Lucas walks over to him and holds out his hand.

“Friends?” he asks and Sullivan takes his hand. Lucas pulls him up from the chair and the two men hug. 

He doesn’t hear the door opening.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Chief. I didn’t mean to interrupt but you said to let you know when there is news from HR.” she looks slightly uncomfortable as Lucas and Sullivan are still hugging.

Lucas finally lets go of his friend and walks over to her to grab the letter.

“Thank you, Angela. I was waiting for this.” he smiles at her and she leaves again.

“So, this is it?” Sully asserts and Lucas nods as he opens the letter nervously.

He reads it and his expression goes from worried to happy.

“I take it it’s good news?” Sullivan asks.

“Yeah. The usual about me no longer being in charge of her evaluations and promotions, us not working a scene together, reporting any changes to our relationship and keeping it professional at the workplace.”

“You better keep it professional at  _ my _ workplace. I don’t want to catch you two having sex in the turnout room or anywhere else for that matter. It’s the last thing I need and I will report you two if that happens. I don’t care that we are friends or that you are my boss. Is that understood?” Lucas chuckles at his friend but nods as he continues.

“I got a reprimand for not reporting it sooner but otherwise I get to keep my job.” a sigh of relief escapes his mouth.

“I’m happy for you. For both of you. She seems to be good for you.” Sully tells him and Lucas smiles. 

“She is.” he beams.

This day couldn’t get any better, he thinks. He got his best friend back and he gets to be with the woman of his dreams.

“I should probably get some work done and you should rest so you can go back to work again. Frankel is not fond of babysitting your people. Her words not mine.” 

“Hey, it’s not my fault she has to babysit my people and your girlfriend. You were supposed to be 19’s Captain while I’m gone.” 

“Actually, she is quite fond of Victoria. I don’t know what she said during her HR interview since it’s confidential but it impressed Frankel and let me tell you Frankel is not an easy woman to impress. Just ask Herrera.” Lucas laughs and so does Sully.

“We should catch up over drinks someday. Fifteen years is a long time.” Lucas nods as he says goodbye to his friend.

Once alone, he picks up his phone and is about to dial Victoria but reconsiders and instead calls Travis.

“Hello Travis, I need your help with something. It’s important.”


	14. Official

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucas has a surprise for Vic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Vic’s shift is finally over and she is annoyed and pissed and just wants to go home. The day was busy and long which wouldn’t have been bad because it would have distracted her from the fact that she still haven’t heard from HR but the calls all involved dumb people doing stupid shit and setting their houses, apartments, cars and even themselves on fire. Vic wonders if it’s full moon and all the idiots were out today playing with fire.

So here she is now, ready to leave but her apartment keys are missing and she doesn’t have the patience for it. She is about to light something or someone on fire herself.

She is so frustrated and angry that she slams her locker, twice, and then kicks it for good measure.

“What the hell is going on, Vic?” Travis come in and looks at her as she is about to kick her locker again.

“Nothing. I’m fine.” she replies.

“Yeah, I can see that, Rambo. What did the locker do to you?” 

“I wanna go home but I can’t find my keys and I’m just angry and frustrated. I haven’t seen or heard from Lucas in over a week and I miss him and HR is taking their sweet time to approve us. That is if they are actually going to approve us. What if they decide not to?” she starts to panic.

“Vic, relax. Everything will be fine. I promise. Go home, have the super open your door and just go take a shower and go to bed. We can look for your keys next shift. Okay?” Vic nods as he pulls her in a hug.

“Thank you, Travis. You are the best.”

“You have no idea.” he mumbles against her shoulder. She doesn’t think much of it that’s how exhausted she is.

Fifteen minutes later, she arrives at home and asks Mr. Glass to open her door. She is ready to just fall into bed. She thinks that she might even skip the shower because she just wants to sleep and forget everything about the last 24 hours. 

“Thank you, Mr. Glass. You are a lifesaver.” she says as she watches him walk away.

She opens the door and steps inside, takes off her jacket and just drops it on the floor. Her bag lands next to the jacket and then she turns around and there, in the middle of the living room, looking pretty damn handsome in a tux with a burgundy tie, is Lucas Ripley, holding a red rose in his hand with the biggest smile on his lips. 

There are red and white rose petals all over the floor and it looks like a sequence from one of those cheesy rom-coms that she usually makes fun of but no one has ever done something like that for her before, so it’s the most romantic thing ever and she loves Lucas a little bit more for it. 

Her couch has been moved to the side and her little round dining table is in the middle of the room with candles and plates on it and it’s just so beautiful she wants to cry.

“Lucas. OMG, what is all this? I don’t understand. You shouldn’t be here. If HR finds out.”

He grabs the envelope that’s on the table, crosses the room, handing it to her.

“Open it!” he tells her as she rips it open and starts reading carefully. Her eyes fill with tears and her smile gets bigger and bigger with each word she reads and then she is looking up at him and the love in his eyes knocks the air out of her lungs. 

“Am I dreaming? Are you really here?” she asks as he takes another step forward and pulls her in his arms and just hold her as she cries happy tears.

They stay like that for what feels like eternity and then pull away as he brings his hand to her cheek and caresses it gently while wiping away the tears with his thumb.

“Go take a shower, there is a surprise for you on your bed and when you come back here, dinner will be ready.” she wants nothing more than to kiss him but she should definitely shower first and she wonders what kind of surprise is waiting for her.

She doesn’t have to wait long to find out. There, in the middle of her bed, is a gorgeous off-the-shoulder floor length gown in burgundy. It’s simply breathtaking and she can’t wait to put it on. Next to the dress is a pair of strappy heels in gold and Vic is already totally in love with them. 

She takes a quick shower, applies some dark red lipstick, kissproof, that goes perfectly with her new dress and his tie and then she lets her curls loose. 

She walks back into her bedroom and lets the towel drop and for a second she thinks of just walking into the living room like that and just have her boyfriend, she loves the sound of that, right there in her living room. She doesn’t care whether it’s on the table, the couch or even the floor but it looks like her went through so much trouble for her and she really wants to wear that dress.

She decides to skip the underwear and plans on teasing Lucas with it during dinner. The dress looks perfect on her. It hugs her in all the right places and her boobs look amazing in it. There is definitely no need for a bra. She hopes that Lucas will lose his mind when he sees her. She feels hot just thinking of him taking it off. She puts on the heels and looks in the mirror one more time and smiles.

“This is finally happening.” she mutters as she takes a deep breath and exits her bedroom. Ready for her first official date with her boyfriend.

\----------

Lucas thought about making them some fancy dinner considering that he was in a tux and she would be wearing a gorgeous gown but instead he made her favorite meal - Burritos. He knew that she would appreciate it more than anything else - she really loved them - especially after a 24 hour shift.

He puts the food on the plates and as he is walking out of the kitchen into the living room, she walks out of the bedroom and he almost drops their dinner because she looks breathtaking. Stunning in every way.

He can’t believe that this gorgeous creature is his girlfriend, that she loves him, that she wants to be with him. He is the luckiest guy on the planet for sure.

“You better not drop those burritos or this relationship will be the shortest you ever had.” she teases and laughs as he puts the plates down on the table, walks over to her and just grabs her face and kisses her. He pours every bit of love he possesses into the kiss. It’s electrifying, makes him dizzy and crave more. He feels like he is on fire. She tastes slightly minty - she must have brushed her teeth while taking a shower - and her skin and hair smell like coconuts and almonds and he just wants to devour her. He gets lost in the feel of her lips against his and doesn’t want this moment to end but when air become necessity he finally pulls away and just stares at her. Her lips are swollen, she is breathing heavily and her pupils are dilated and then her face falls and so does his heart. 

“Somehow that was much better in my fantasy. I think I may have to call HR and let them know this is not working out after all.” and his heart would probably stop but as he looks at her he sees her trying really hard to remain serious but she is failing miserably and then she just bursts into laughter.

“That’s for having Travis steal my keys and making me think I lost them. Did you think I wouldn’t figure it out?” she explains.

“I can’t believe you just ruined our first kiss. You know I ain’t the youngest anymore. That just now could have killed me.” he knows he sounds over-dramatic.

“Aww, let me make it up to you then.” she cups his cheek and caresses it softly as she looks into his eyes.

“I love you so much, Lucas Ripley. You have no idea how happy you make me.” she tells him before her lips finally meet his and she kisses him and it’s even better than before, takes his breath away. He feels it down to his toes, the love that she feels for him. His arms wrap around her waist as he pulls her closer, leaving no room between them and they just kiss for a while until her stomach growls and they pull apart, laughing.

“Sorry, I only had a few protein bars in the last 24 hours. I’m actually starving.”

He pulls the chair out for her and she sits down. She doesn’t wait for him to be seated as she inhales her food and Lucas has to admit that he is falling even more in love with her in that moment. Here she is, wearing a gorgeous gown, on their first date and she is devouring her burrito like someone is about to steal it from her.

“You should maybe breath, my love.” he chuckles and she looks up and chuckles as well.

“I must look really sexy right now.” she jokes.

“You always are to me.” he admits and she rolls her eyes at him.

“I doubt it, Casanova. I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m starving and I’m so glad you made me burritos. I have been craving them. Almost as much as you.” she teases and he looks mock-hurt.

“I should probably take this as a compliment since I know how much you love them.” she just nods as she stuffs her mouth with more food.

“You should eat those or I will.” she threatens in between bites as Lucas pushes his plate towards her and her face lights up.

“I love you so much right now.” she says with a full mouth as she attacks his plate.. 

She finishes both their plates in a matter of minutes and he must admit that he is quite impressed.

“You happy now?” he wonders and she nods as she swallows the last bite and wipes her mouth and hands with the napkin.

“I have something for you.” he tells her.

“Dessert?” she asks suggestively and he can’t help but laugh.

“That’s for later.” he says as he reveals a CD.

“Did you make me a mixtape?” he nods as he stands up to walk to her CD-player and starts playing it.

“I’ll make love to you” starts playing and she raises an eyebrow at him clearly amused.

“I know better things to do while listening to that song than dancing.” he rolls his eyes.

“That song was not meant to play first.” he presses “next” and the right song starts playing. She smiles at him as he walks back to her and holds out his hand. She takes it and they start dancing in her living room as he starts singing along.

_ L is for the way you look at me _

_ O is for the only one I see _

_ V is very, very extraordinary _

_ E is even more than anyone that you adore can _

He holds her close to him, swaying with her and he could stay in this moment forever.

_ Love is all that I can give to you _

_ Love is more than just a game for two _

_ Two in love can make it _

_ Take my heart and please don't break it _

_ Love was made for me and you _

They start kissing during the instrumental part until  _ she _ pulls away and starts singing the next couple of lines.

_ L is for the way you look at me _

_ O is for the only one I see _

_ V is very, very extraordinary _

_ E is even more than anyone that you adore can _

_ Love is all that I can give to you _

_ Love is more than just a game for two _

_ Two in love can make it _

_ Take my heart and please don't break it _

_ Love was made for me and you _

They sing the last line together.

_ For me and you _

“I love you.” he tells her.

“I love you too.” she replies as “I’ll make love to you” starts playing again.

“I think that might be our cue.” she tsays as she leans in to whisper into his ear.

“Full disclosure, I’m not wearing anything underneath this dress.” she teases him and his knees buckle at her revelation.

“Fuck!” he curses.

“That’s the idea.” she smirks as she turns around and looks at him over her shoulder.

“Unzip me!” she orders and he does as told.

She turns back around to look at him, lets the dress fall to the floor, revealing her perfect caramel skin. Lucas feels like the wind has been knocked out of his sails. She is perfect in every way. Her skin looks so smooth. He can’t wait to touch it, kiss it, just feel it against his fingertips. Her breast are the perfect size, they will fit perfectly into his palms and he wants to play with them, take them into his mouth and just bite and lick them. Her body is just so beautiful and he can’t wait to explore it.

He looks her up and down and he still can’t believe his luck. Smart, funny, gorgeous, sexy and she wants  _ him _ , loves  _ him _ . How did he get so lucky?

“You like what you see, Chief?” she purrs and he only nods because he doesn’t trust himself to speak. She just smiles as she steps out of the dress.

“Give me ten minutes.” she says as she walks into her bedroom, swaying her hips in a way that drives him crazy and he is pretty sure she knows it.

“I’ll give you five.” he calls after her and hears her laugh.

He does end up giving her ten minutes. He bends down to pick up her dress from the floor and walks into the bedroom, only to find her underneath the covers, fast asleep.

He smiles as he admires her sleeping form. She looks like an angel.  _ His angel _ . She must have been really tired but he doesn’t mind just holding her in his arms tonight. He is in no rush.

He drops the dress onto one of the chairs and undresses quickly, leaving on his boxers and puts his tux next to her dress. Then he slides underneath the covers and it’s like her body is on autopilot as she snuggles into him. He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her closer to him, kissing her forehead as he hears her mumble something.

“What is it, my love?” 

“I’m sorry for falling asleep. I’m just so tired.” she apologizes and he gives her a quick kiss on the lips.

“It’s okay. We have the rest of our lives to make love to each other.” the implication of his words is not lost on him.

“The rest of our lives. I like the sound of that.” she replies and smiles against his chest before drifting off to sleep again.

As he listens to her soft snores, his mind wanders and even though he said that he wouldn’t be getting married a third time when his second marriage imploded, he is pretty sure that he will marry Victoria Hughes because she is the love of his life and he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, making her laugh and happy, making love to her, celebrating one milestone after another and if she is up for it have a couple of children that look just like her and have her heart. He wants everything with her. That is the last thought before he falls asleep as well, holding the woman of his dreams, the love of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end.
> 
> Just kidding! There will be one more chapter to conclude this story.


	15. Rest of Our Lives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vic and Lucas take the next step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has been with me on this journey. The story is finally complete and I hope you are going to enjoy the final chapter. 
> 
> Thanks everyone who read this, left kudos and commented. It means a great deal to me.

Vic wakes up in the middle of the night, wrapped in the warm, loving arms of her boyfriend and she still can’t believe it. It’s finally official. They are together, officially a couple and have the approval of the department and her team and Vic couldn’t be happier especially about the fact that her team is on board with them and supporting them. The last week had been stressful with work and HR taking their sweet time with their approval but it all worked out in the end. 

She grabs her phone to look at the time and she snorts when she realizes that it’s midnight. She has only slept for a couple of hours but she feels rested enough and she needs to make it up to Lucas for just falling asleep on him when he put so much effort into their date.

She turns in his arms so she can look at him. He looks peaceful and so handsome and he is all hers. She smiles as she remembers his words about making love to each other for the rest of their lives and she can’t wait to spend it with him. The thought about spending the rest of her life with someone would have scared her a few months ago but she finds with Lucas she wants exactly that. 

As she watches him sleep, an idea comes to mind as she starts humming  _ “I’ll Make Love To You” _ into his ear while her hand roams his body. She feels him stir but his eyes remain closed. She starts kissing his neck while still humming, her hand moving further down his chest to his abs.

“Mmmmh” she hears him as she continues to kiss down his neck. She feels one of his arms snake around her waist and pull her up on top of him. She lets out a squeal of delight as his eyes open up and he looks at her with so much love in them and it takes her breath away.

“Hey!” she says as he smiles at her in that sleepy yet adorable way.

“Hey! So, you wanna make love to me?” he asks suggestively as he wiggles his eyebrows and she chuckles.

“For the rest of our lives.” she answers as she grabs his face into both her hands and leans down to kiss him. The moment their lips meet she feels a spark ignite and it goes through her entire body like electricity. He opens up his mouth for her and she pushes her tongue in and lets it tangle with his while his hands start playing with her hair, massaging her scalp, making her moan into his mouth. Her own hands start playing with his blonde curls while he nibbles on her lower lip and kisses along her jawline and then up to her ear.

“I love you so much, Victoria.” he whispers into her ear with this husky voice that makes her feel weak in the knees and like her body is on fire.

“I love you, too, Lucas.” she replies and sits up on top of him, straddling him, grinding her hips against his lazily. The room is dark except for the moonlight that is coming through her window which illuminates his skin and his eyes look like two blue crystals that are piercing into her soul making her forget her own name.

He looks at her and admires the purple babydoll chemise she had put on to surprise him before falling asleep.

“Is that from drawer number 2 because you gotta show me what else is in there. You look so sexy.” he moans as his hands go to the little bow in the front. He tugs at it and it comes loose around her chest, revealing her beautiful, perky breasts to him and his mouth waters at the sight of her. He sits up and his mouth goes straight to her left breast while one of his hands starts playing with the other. His tongue circles around her left nipple, lightly biting and sucking at it while his fingers tweak the right one. Lucas realizes in that moment that her nipples are very sensitive and her moans are getting louder with every suck, nibble, tweak and bite and it makes him painfully hard as she keeps grinding her hips against his with his other hand is on her ass guiding her movement on top of him.

“Lucas, I need you. Please!” she begs and he can’t deny her. He grabs the hem of her chemise and pulls it over her head, off of her and then he just stares at her gorgeous, naked body. She is probably the most beautiful woman he has ever seen.

“See something you like, Chief.” she teases him in a low voice and he can’t help but groan.

“I see something I love. You are so damn beautiful.” he tells her and she chuckles.

“And you are so damn cheesy.” she teases him some more and before she knows it, he has her pinned underneath him making her yelp at the unexpected, sudden move. 

“You love my cheesy side, admit it.” he thrusts against her and she groans.

“I love all your sides and now make love to me, please. I can’t wait any longer.” 

“You were the one that fell asleep, my love.” he teases as she helps him remove his boxers impatiently. He settles back between her legs and positions himself at her entrance, looking at her lovingly.

“What about protection?” he asks softy.

“We don’t need to worry about that besides I want to feel you, please.” that’s all he needs to hear before he finally and oh so slowly pushes into her, stretching and filling her until he is buried inside of her to the hilt. He gives her a moment to adjust to him.

“You feel amazing inside of me. You can move now.” she encourages him as he starts moving inside of her, setting a slow pace just enjoying the feel of her wrapped around him. She is so tight and wet and warm and he can’t wait to feel her come around him while squeezing and milking him.

“Lucas, can you go harder and faster, please.” she moans as he picks up the pace and starts thrusting into her with a bit more force but at the same time remaining gentle.

She is babbling now, telling him how good he feels and how much she loves him. Her hands are on his ass, gripping it tightly to force him deeper into her. He is giving her all of him over and over as he feels her getting closer to her release. He is not far behind. A few more thrusts is all it takes and then they are both coming together. Her muscles are squeezing him tightly as he lets go inside of her.

They stay connected, trying to catch their breaths, just kissing and enjoying the afterwaves of their orgasms.

“You still feel like calling HR?” he teases and she chuckles.

“Yeah, only to yell at them for taking so long with their decision and depriving me of mind blowing orgasms with my boyfriend.” she tells him and he laughs.

He pulls out of her and they both immediately miss the feel of each other.

“I love you, Victoria.” he whispers into her ear as he grabs her by the waist to pull her closer to him. She turns around to look at him, one hand caressing his cheek.

“I love you, too, Lucas. So much.” she presses a soft kiss to his lips before resting her head on his chest. She dozes off to the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat with a smile on her face.

She wakes up the next morning, rested, happy and alone which makes her panic for a second until she hears sounds coming from the kitchen. Lucas must be making them breakfast, she thinks as she gets out of her bed.

She quickly grabs his shirt and pulls it over her head and walks into her kitchen to find him standing there wearing only his boxers and Vic feels her mouth water at the sight of him. She quietly moves closer to him and he jumps slightly when she wraps her arms around him from behind.

“I should have gotten you that bell instead of a mixtape.” he teases and she chuckles against his shoulder as she places soft kisses there while her hands roam his chest and abs.

“If you keep doing that, I will definitely burn our breakfast.” he warns her and she smiles as she continues her ministrations. 

“Good thing we are both firefighters then.” she teases as her hand cups him through his boxers and he can’t help but groan.

“You will be the death of me.” he tells her as she keeps stroking him.

“Oh, you have no idea.” she whispers into his ear as she lets go of him, making him pout as it was just getting good for him. She laughs as she walks over to her coffee machine and fills up two mugs for them.

“You are such a tease.” he tells her as he grabs the mug from her and kisses her quickly before turning back to the stove and their breakfast.

She hops on top of the kitchen counter beside him, one of his hands immediately going to her thigh caressing it and making her squirm like he did a moment ago.

“Now, who is the tease here?” she accuses as he snickers but doesn’t stop.

“You started it, my love.” he winks at her as he removes his hand from her thigh to turn off the stove. He grabs two plates and fills them with food and sets them on the little table. She hops off the counter and joins him a moment later.

“Lucas, there is something I need to tell you before you find out from someone else.” she tells him. He sets down his fork and looks at her worried.

“What is it?” he wonders.

“I -- I slept with someone from 23.” she pauses, takes a deep breath and continues. “It was only once. He was kinda boring but what else did I expect from someone from 23.” she laughs nervously as she looks at him. She can’t read his expression. She hopes that this won’t be a problem.

“I know about Mayhorn. I fired him.” he tells her and that she didn’t expect.

“Wait what? You fired him because he slept with me?”

“No, I fired him because he was being a disrespectful prick about sleeping with you. I overheard him talk about you and that is no way to talk about women. And for the record, I would have fired him for talking like that about any of the female firefighters in my department.” he tells her and she smile at him and leans forward to give him a quick kiss.

“Thank you! I didn’t think he would turn out to be an ass. He seemed nice just a bit boring. Sorry again.”

“There is nothing to apologize for. We were not together and I know that you have a past just as much as I do.” she nods as she takes a bite of her pancakes and moans at the taste.

“Oh damn, babe, these are so good.” she tells him as she holds the spoon with pancake in front of his mouth.

“You do know that I have my own pancakes right here in front of me.” he teases and she rolls her eyes.

“Yeah but they taste so much better when you share them.” she tells him and he opens his mouth, so she can feed him.

They feed each other pancakes and fruits for a while until her phone rings. She quickly checks the caller ID.

“It’s Travis.” she tells him.

“I’ll clean up and you go talk to your best friend.” he tells her, nodding at her when she asks if he is sure.

“Hey Trav!” she answers.

“Hey Trav? That’s all I’m getting?” she hears him complain.

“What else would you be getting?” she wonders as she walks into her bedroom and plops down onto her bed.

“Oh come on, Vic. You know exactly what I want to hear. How was it? Don’t make me beg for details.” he whines and Vic chuckles.

“I fell asleep.” she replies.

“You what? You fell asleep after all the effort he put into all of it? You don’t deserve the man.”

“Hey, you stole my apartment keys, so you don’t get to complain.”

“I can’t believe he ratted me out.”

“He didn’t. I just figured it out. I ain’t stupid, you know.” she tells him.

“I know. Sorry, Vic. Lucas called me and it was so sweet and you know me. I just wanted you to have the perfect evening with your boyfriend.” he explains.

“I know, Trav. I ain’t mad. I just love to mess with you.” she chuckles and hears him sigh in relief.

“So, nothing happened yet? You fell asleep?”

“I did but then I woke up in the middle of the night and...” she stops talking as she feels her cheeks burning.

“And what? Come on, Vic, tell me. I wanna hear everything.”

“Isn’t this weird for you? Talking about your bosses’ love life?”

“If it ain’t weird that my boss is sleeping with my best friend then it’s not weird talking about it, so, spit it out!”

“It was amazing, Travis. It has ever felt like this before.”

“That’s because you’re in love with him. Everything is different when feelings are involved. It’s so much better.”

“It really is.”

“So, it was everything you thought it would be.” he wonders.

“No, it was even better.” she admits.

“I’m really happy for you, Vic. You deserve to be happy.” she smiles.

“So do you, Travis. And thank you.” 

“For last night?” 

“No, for being supportive of Lucas and me. You have been since the beginning and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I love you, Travis.” she hears a click as her bedroom door opens and Lucas walks in, settling next to her.

“I love you, too, Vic.” she smiles again as Lucas motions for her to hand him the phone. 

“Travis, hey it’s Lucas. I just wanted to say thank you again for your help last night.”

  
“I’m glad to hear that everything worked out. Vic sounds really happy.”

“She is. So am I. A lot of it thanks to you. You are a great friend.” he tells him and Vic’s heart melts. These two guys are the most important men in her life and she loves that they are getting along.

“That’s good to hear. I won’t keep you. I’m sure you are not done making her happy just yet.” she watches as Lucas starts blushing and she wonders what Travis had said to him.

“Bye Travis.”

“Bye Lucas.” he hangs up and hands her back the phone.

“What was that about?” she wants to know.

“What was what about?” he acts as if he doesn’t know what she is talking about.

“You were blushing. What did Travis say?”

“Nothing really. Just that I’m not done making you happy just yet.” Vic laughs. 

“Oh, we are so not done yet.” she says as she straddles his lap and grinds her hips against him while his hands move to cup her ass and his eyes go wide.

“Oh damn, you have been naked underneath my shirt this entire time?” he groans and she winks at him as she leans down to kiss him.

“Mm-hmm. What do you plan on doing about it, Chief?” she purrs into this ear as he slowly removes his shirt from her body leaving her completely naked on top of him.

“I can’t get enough of you. You are so gorgeous and all mine.” he tells her before attacking her neck and sucking at the skin there. She knows there will be a hickey later but she doesn’t care. She will make sure to leave a matching one on his neck later on.

They spend the rest of the day in bed talking about their future, exchanging kisses and  _ I love you’s _ and being one. Vic can’t think of a better way to spend her day off than in the arms of the love of her life.

\----------

Lucas had surprised her with keys to a brand new house, their house, for their one year anniversary. They had talked about moving in together but had not made any decisions about the when and where to and then she opened the little box and there was a key in it and when he showed her the house, Vic couldn’t help but cry happy tears. It was perfect and big enough to house half a cricket team as Lucas so kindly reminded her with a wink to which she replied that he would only get half a cricket team if he was the one to give birth to them. He only chuckled and said “We’ll see about that.” before kissing her and having his way with her against the bedroom door of their new home.

So, here she is now, awake in the middle of the night in their bed. She gets up and walks into the kitchen to find her boyfriend at the stove, preparing what looks like hot chocolate and she smiles as she remembers how this whole thing with them started.

She clears her throat and it startles him slightly and she laughs because it will never get old. 

“It’s like I’m dating a ninja.” he teases and she laughs some more. She watches him as he puts a mug a steaming hot chocolate in front of her. He turns back around, turns off the stove and grabs something from the counter which she can’t make out until he opens his palm.

“OMG, is that one of those blooming marshmallows?” she sounds excited like a little child and he chuckles as he nods and puts the marshmallow into her hot chocolate and a moment later it starts to blossom and Vic’s breath hitches as she finds a gorgeous engagement ring in the middle of it. She grabs the ring and turns to Lucas only to find him already down on one knee. He takes the ring from her and starts talking.

“Today, exactly two years ago at midnight, you found me in the kitchen, making hot chocolate and we talked and my life changed forever. I already had a bit of a crush on you from when you yelled at me but those midnight talks just made me realize what an amazing woman you are and how much I want you in my life and each night I found myself falling for you a bit more. I wish I had admitted my feelings for you sooner because being with you has made me so unbelievably happy. I can’t imagine a life without you. Victoria Katherine Hughes, do you want to spend the rest of our lives together as husband and wife?” he has tears in his eyes and is smiling at her and Vic’s heart is about to burst.

“What do you think? Of course I do. Nothing would make me happier than being your wife.” she finally replies and he slips the ring onto her finger before standing up and kissing her with all the love he possesses. When air becomes necessity they pull apart and he urges her to drink the hot chocolate. She looks at him suspiciously but takes a sip and smiles.

“You figured out the secret ingredient.” she chuckles as he looks so proud of himself.

“It’s all about the spice.” he tells her as he picks her up and carries her to their bedroom where they make love to each other for the first time as soon-to-be husband and wife.


End file.
